Fearful
by HJP007
Summary: Mary lived in an orphanage until her godfather, Remus, came to save her from the hands of her "caretakers" after almost 10 years. After the nightmare that was her life there will she be able to trust again and live without fear after everything she's been through? Will her Godfather and later her dad, Sirius, and Harry be able to become a family after being torn to pieces?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, so here is the first chapter and I hope you like it. This is my first fan fiction here so if you have any suggestion I'd be glad to hear but please, if you don't like there's no need to be mean okay? Thank you (: (REWRITTEN)**

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter. He and everything but Mary belongs to J.K. Rowling (:**_

**AU**

**Fearful**

**Chapter 1**

It was a usual rainy day in London Town and somewhere in the city a little girl was watching through the window as the rain fell, as if the weather was mocking her feelings. Mary had lived in St. Theresa's Orphanage since she could remember and she didn't know anything about her parents but she supposed they were dead or probably didn't want her, like every adult who came here looking for a child to adopt. She did not call this horrid place home, though. Home was supposed to be a place where you felt safe and you had a mum and dad to take care of you and to tell everything's going to be alright, to wipe your tears and hold you. Home was a place of love and acceptance, and well… the orphanage didn't fit in any of these categories. She had lost her hope about having a home, after years being mistreated and disliked, if not hated; she didn't think her life would ever be worth or living, or even bearable but she didn't complain. She never did.

Mary was in the bedroom she shared with a blond haired girl about her age named Chloe and two of her cronies, and was glad that they were somewhere else, otherwise Mary would not be sitting so peacefully, or as much as she could be. Strange things have been happening to her since she was five, just like wishing she had a blanket when she was cold and the blanket appeared of nowhere – she tried wishing her parents would come and get her, but it didn't work – and wishing that she was somewhere where Chloe's gang couldn't get her and she appeared in the attic, just to get in trouble, beaten up and starved for five days by Mr. Clark, a balding man who was responsible for the children along with his wife, when she went downstairs. She was used to it though; she was a worthless piece of scum and ungrateful freak and did not deserve to be treated any different.

She was absorbed on her thoughts and didn't hear Mrs. Clark calling her, only noticing her presence when the elder woman gave a sharp slap on her face.

"Don't ignore me stupid girl. There's a man out there who wants to see you and you better not keep him waiting, else he might go back and leave you here without even meeting you. We both know that these opportunities don't come easy for you, huh? Who would want to adopt a freak like you?" Her words were harsh but nothing out of the ordinary for the tiny girl who was biting her lip trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "And cover that red cheek of yours."

"Y-Yes, ma'am." She said weakly. She did not get her hopes up, it was always the same: people rarely wanted to see her and when they did, they always regretted after hearing what Rosina Clark had to say about her. Everyone in the orphanage hated her and liked to make her life a living hell and Mary didn't know why they bothered telling her someone wanted to see her, it wasn't like she was going to get adopted anyway.

She went to the study with her head down, hoping she would not bump into Chloe or her "friends" on her way, they would only make her feel worse about being rejected one more time. She reached the study quicker than she was prepared for and put her small hand on the door knob _'C'mon Mary Mae, you can do this. You've been through this enough to know exactly what will happen.' _But no matter how many times she was rejected, the pain always felt like a new scar, stinging until the time passed and another one replaced it.

She took a deep breath and opened the door to find and man dressed in shabby clothes - not that his we're worse than hers anyway - pacing in the room when she entered. However, the moment she stepped through the door the man turned to look at her and a smile spread across his face fading quickly when he took a better look at her.

She was pretty small for her age looking like five or six instead of a soon-to-be ten year old girl and was very thin, like she hadn't been fed properly. She was wearing a dirty overall with wholes all over it and had a long black wavy hair and grey eyes, which painfully reminded the man of the one who used to be one of his best friends. He quickly pushed this feeling aside and smiled at the girl who was standing next to the door.

"Hi, I'm Remus Lupin. You must be Mary..." The man said smiling as the girl nodded hesitantly. "Why don't you sit, I have a lot to ask you and I'm sure that soon you'll have many questions as well."

Remus had to restrain himself from gathering her in his arms, after all these years searching for her he finally found her and she didn't even know who he was.

Mary walked slowly and seated still on the chair that Mr. Lupin indicated, taking extra care not to show the hand print on her left cheek. The man could clearly see that she was scared from the way Mary sat as far away from him as possible.

"It's okay, you know. I don't bite." He tried to joke and get a smile from the girl who only gave him a half smile before she stopped herself and looked down at her dress. Remus sighed and tried to get the girl to talk. This time trying not to think about the red mark he saw on her face. "How old are you now, Mary?" He knew that, of course he did.

"Ni-nine, sir." She stuttered. _'Great' _she thought_ 'Now Mr. Lupin gave up on everything. I'm not only a freak but I can barely talk. I don't know why I get my hopes so high anyway, I should've learned.'_

"Hmm." He frowned at the use of the title _'sir' _but let this one slip, he would tell her to stop calling him that when they were home. "You know, you look just like your father..."

At the mention of her father the little girl looked at him with fascination before looking down again and fidgeting with her hands. _'He knew daddy!'_ was the only thing in her mind and she was about to ask one question when she remembered she wasn't allowed to do so.

"I knew him, we went to school together. Your mother too..." He was desperate trying to get some reaction from the girl. "A brilliant woman she was, very kind." He smiled at the memory. "You know, I was there when she discovered she was pregnant. She asked me to be your godfather..." The man said carefully waiting for some reaction.

Mary stood still on the chair while she absorbed this information. _'Mr. Lupin knew mum too!'_ And then she remembered what the man said about being her godfather._ 'Why didn't he come before? Why would he want me now? Why is he here?'_

"R-Really?" She asked before she could stop herself, she prepared herself for the shouts that were sure to come.

"Really" The man said with a sad smile. "You're probably wondering why I didn't come sooner... I wasn't able to get you here until today. I'm trying to get an authorization since I discovered where you were one year ago, but these things take long" _'Especially when you're a werewolf' _Remus added in his mind as an afterthought. "When your mother died, you were sent here and nobody knew where you were. It was my responsibility to take care of you as your godfather but they sent you away before I could reach the hospital. Now that I found you I wanted to know… I wanted to know if you want to come and live with me, like you should have been since your mother died. I'll understand if you don't want to go, of course..." He was interrupted by the distressed sniffs of his god daughter, and one look at her broke his heart. She was shaking with her head on her knees, he could hear she mumbling "Stop, stop" thanks to his werewolf hearing and acted on instinct when he scooped her up onto his lap and struggled to get away. "Shh, shh, cub. Don't cry. Shh." He rubbed her back on a soothing way, trying to get the little girl to relax in his arms. After what seemed like hours for Remus, her sobs turned into small hiccups.

"I-I'm sorry, sir." Mary said trying to get off the man's lap, only to be gently pulled down by him. Everything he told her was so overwhelming that she could not stand it, he was only telling her all this to say that he didn't want her in the end, that she was a disappointment.

"Shh. There's nothing to be sorry for, cub." He said while wiping her tears with his thumb. "What about you tell me why you were crying, mm?"

"W-Why would you want m-me? I'm j-just an ungrateful little f-freak, a worthless piece of tr-trash, stupid girl. Nobody w-would ever want m-me. I d-don't deserve anyone to care for me, I'm just a b-burden, I s-shouldn't even been b-born. A-and-" She was interrupted by Remus who hugged her and felt her tense and flinch –he noticed that she wasn't used to hugs at all, and felt guilty about it. He wondered what those muggles have done to her and hoped that his suspicions were wrong.

"Never, ever, ever repeat these words do you hear me, Mary Mae? You're the most adorable little girl I've ever met, you're sweet and kind and who told you this was lying. These things are all lies! I want you because I love you since the day I became your godfather! You're not a freak, you're not!" He wiped the tears that were falling from her eyes.

"Y-You don't know anything about me! Mrs. Clark should have told you this before. I'm a-a freak, weird things h-happen around me. Everyo-one hate me and t-tell me this. Y-you don't have to d-do this just because you feel o-obligated to as my godfather. Y-you don't need to pretend you want me because you feel pity towards me!" Her tears fell faster.

"You're not a freak, Mary. You can do magic, you're magical, just like your parents and I. You're a witch and that's all. Whoever told you these things was lying as I said before! And I'm not doing this because of anything but love, I deeply care about you and I am sorry that I wasn't here sooner. But I really want you to come live with me." He kissed her forehead, quietly hexing those muggles into next week for making his precious goddaughter believe these things about her.

"Ma-magic doesn't exist and I'm n-not a witch." She said, threatening to let the tears fall again. "I may be a b-bad girl but I'm not like t-that." She said quietly and Remus gently cursed himself for not explaining better.

"No, no. You don't understand. Magic is real and real witches and wizards aren't like this witches that you see on muggle books." He saw the questioning look on her face and quickly added. "Muggles are people who don't have magic running in their blood like us. Real witches aren't all bad, not all of them. There are mostly good witches and wizards. And they're definitely not ugly; there are a lot of beautiful witches you know."

"Oh" Was everything that Mary managed to say while trying to absorb everything that she has been told. She was a witch, magic was real!

"So... what do you say, cub? You want to come and live with me?" Remus said looking down at the little girl on his lap. The girl just nodded uncertainly, scared of saying something wrong and making this kind man regret everything. A smile spread across his face when she nodded but he also saw a bit of fear in her eyes that has been there for the whole conversation and promised himself he'd make it go away. "Why don't you go get your things while I sign some papers? Then we can go home." He smiled and pulled the girl to her feet and then she walked away.

She sighed happier than she ever felt as she went back to her and Chloe's bedroom to get the few things she had and then go home with her godfather. Godfather. If someone said to her that this'd happen to her she would have never believe it, but there is always hope after all. She was scared too, what if he regretted his decision and sent her away. What if he treated her like Mr. and Mrs. Clark did? Not that she didn't deserve it, but it was too painful. She decided that she wouldn't do anything to make him cross, and that she would do anything he wanted to never come back here. She was started to pack absently when she noticed that she was not alone.

"Well, well, well. It looks like the little freak is getting adopted, pity that she will come back. Why would anybody want her anyway? She'll be here soon and alone as always." Chloe said to her gang and the rest of them laughed. Mary tensed instantly as she felt Chloe approach her. "If I were you, girl, I wouldn't unpack there and get my hopes up. You'll be handed back quickly than you can say 'freak'." And with that Chloe scratched the younger's arm and went away, leaving Mary bleeding alone on the floor. As much as she tried to stop, tears were streaming down her face.

When Remus asked the owner of the orphanage for the papers to sign, she tried in every possible way to make him give up, saying that the girl had mental and anger problems and was a freak. Only to receive a harsh response from the angry godfather who now understood why his cub said those things. When the papers were all signed he stood on his feet pacing up and down, worrying why she was taking so long.

After she stopped crying, she went to the bathroom to clean the dry blood of her newest scratch. She got her things and made her way to the study to find her godfather pacing up and down. She froze at his reaction, she made him mad and now he was going to leave her here, he was going to hit her.

"I-I'm sorry I've made you wait, sir. P-please don't be mad, please d-don't leave m-me here." She said pleading, knowing this wouldn't make anything better. If she learned something in those years was that when you beg people get madder. But she was surprised when the man hugged her. She tensed when the suddenly act of affection that she wasn't used to made her back sting worse from her last beating. Remus felt her tense and pulled her away.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Mary. I'm not mad and I would never, ever leave you here. Do you understand?" She nodded and lowered her gaze. "And I also rather if you didn't call me 'sir', it makes me feel old." He joked just to receive a nod from the girl. He sighed and held her hand, leading her through the door. He felt her tense from the small shown of affection and noticed sadly that she was scared of him. Merlin, what have these muggles done? "Do you want to say good bye to anyone?" He said walking out of the house, receiving a fearful glance from his Charge. "I'll take this as 'no'. Ready to see more magic, cub? Okay, come here." She nodded as he released her hand and picked her up; it would be easier to apparate that way. She weighted barely anything. She tensed even more in his arms and his soothing words calmed her down a bit. "Shh, that's okay. Close your eyes and hold on me tight okay? It'll be over soon, there's no need to be scared." She did as told a clung into her godfather's shirt like there was no tomorrow and soon she felt like she was being pressed from every direction and unable to breath.

**A/N: So, do you like it? I love reviews you know…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second chapter, I hope you like it. (Few things altered, make sure you check it) - REWRITTEN**

**PS: Abuse scene in this chapter!**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter._**

**Fearful**

**Chapter 2**

It seemed like hours to Mary but soon that feeling disappeared. She was burying her head on her godfather's next and clinging on his shirt for dear life, though unconsciously. She didn't even notice that he was holding her tight and that her back started to bleed slightly again. She only took deep breaths to relieve the dizziness.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked concerned, not noticing her back either. When she heard his voice she quickly let go of his shirt and looked down.

"S-sorry." She said quietly.

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for. _I_ am sorry. I should have told you what to expect." Her put her down and ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "Welcome home, Mary." He gestured to the white house on front of them. "Is not much, but is home. This was my parents' house." The yard was full of flowers, it was not a big house but it was big enough for both of them. The house has 3 bedrooms (Remus', Mary's and a guest room), 2 bathrooms (one in the hallway and one inside Remus' bedroom), a study/library, an 'open kitchen' (kitchen + dining room), a living room and a basement. He looked at the girl next to him and smiled. She was looking at the house in awe with a huge smile on her face.

Remus' words were echoing on her mind. She couldn't believe it, it was home!

"Did you like it?" He asked and she nodded excited stopping herself when her head ached. "Then, what are we waiting for? Let's get inside!" He grabbed her hand and led her to the house with her bag on his shoulder. After a quick tour downstairs they went to the second floor.

"So, down the hallway is the guest's bedroom with the bathroom across, this one is mine" He pointed to a door. "And this-" He stopped by the door between the bathroom and his bedroom. "-is yours." He looked at her and then opened the door.

The room had a light pink wall and a shelf on it with loads of books, a wardrobe next to the door full of clothes, a bed with a small stuffed black dog, wolf, stag and rat on it, a desk with a chair, a mirror and a big window covered by red curtains. It was perfect.

A single tear escaped from Mary's eyes when she looked around her room, it was more than she ever asked. She hesitated a bit but ran to her godfather and then stopped looking unsure. She didn't know how to thank him properly, not for the bedroom but for taking her away. She was sure it was too good to last and she wanted to postpone the goodbye. He pulled her into a hug.

"T-Thank you." She said. "It's perfect."

"I'm glad you like it." He squeezed her one more time and got startled when she flinched and pushed away. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. He smelt something but couldn't put a finger on it. It was only when he saw his hands that he noticed his goddaughter's blood. He tried to ignore the voice nagging his mind that was confirming his suspicions. Remus gasped and turned her around so he could examine her back.

"N-no." She said backing away until she had her back touching the wall.

"Come on pup, let me help you. You're hurt. Let me see it." He said calmer than he felt and took a hesitant step forward.

"T-there's nothing f-for you to s-see." She was trembling.

"I know you're hurt, Mary. You're bleeding, this could be dangerous. Let me see it, cub." He crouched down so he was on the same level as her. He looked her in the eyes and held her gaze. "I promise I won't hurt you, I never will." He put a hand on her forearm and she pulled away.

"N-no! P-Please!" She was sobbing by now.

"Shh. You're safe, I won't hurt you." He held her in his arms and sat her on the bed, ignoring her struggles. "Hush Mary... Shh. You're alright, you're safe. I won't let anyone touch you ever again. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Please let me help you, cub." When her breathes calmed down a bit he turned her around so he could see her bloodstained overall and pulled it down enough so he could see her back. He gasped at the sight and tried to get control of his breathes. Her back was full of bruises, welts, belt marks, scratches and scars not fully healed that seemed to be infected. "W-Who did this to you, Mary?" He asked trying to repress the anger in his voice.

"I-I c-can't tell y-you. They s-said t-they w-would b-beat m-me until I-I b-bleed t-to death I-if I ever t-told." She said sobbing.

"Shh, you're safe now. No one will hurt you anymore. I'm here now." He tried to suppress the wolf inside him. Remus had to be strong for her; it would only scare her more if she saw his enraged side.

"They've been d-doing it s-since I-I started d-doing m-magic. And e-everybody s-started to b-be mean to m-me and t-treat me badly. I w-was only f-five. I did n-not u-understand why t-they d-did it b-back then." She sobbed. "I-I a-always d-did e-everything t-they told m-me to. I-I a-always t-tried to b-be a good g-girl. B-but k-kept doing i-it more often. T-they w-would b-blame me f-for everything." She had a haunted look in her eyes. "S-sometimes I w-would spend d-days w-without f-food because I-I was a b-bad girl and t-then they w-would beat me u-until I bleed and passed o-out. B-but I d-deserved what I-I've got. I'm a w-waste of space, an un-ungrateful freak, p-piece of t-trash. I-I got w-what I deserved. I-I shan't e-expect any better."

_Flashback_

"_FREAK! WHY YOU DIDN'T DO WHAT I ORDERED YOU TO? YOU THINK YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU PLEASE AND THERE WON'T BE CONSEQUENCES?! I ASKED YOU TO CLEAN THE BASEMENT AND YOU DID NOTHING AS I SAID! YOU JUST MADE IT FILTHIER WITH YOUR PRESENCE!" Mrs. Clark's husband, Brandon, lifted the girl up by the hair. "YOU'LL GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. YOU STUPID, FREAK, PIECE OF TRASH." With a blink a 7 year-old Mary Mae was on the floor being kicked by the man. "UNGRATEFUL FREAK, AFTER ALL WE DID TO YOU. WE COULD KICK YOU OUT OF HERE ANYTIME WE WANT AND YOU'D HAVE NOWHERE TO GO. DO YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE NOBODY LOVES YOU! NOBODY'S OUT THERE LOOKING FOR YOU!"_

"_No, no! P-please stop it!" She cried. "P-P-Please, I-I'm s-sorry!" The sweat was covering her face mixed with the blood._

"_YOU'LL NEVER FORGET TO DO SOMETHING WHEN I ASK YOU TO, GIRL. I'M GONNA BEAT THE FREAKISHNESS OUT OF YOU EVEN IF I HAVE TO KILL YOU! It's not like anyone would miss you, anyway. No one will ever love you, you're unlovable, a freak, that's why you're here. You're parents didn't want you." The man grabbed a rusty shovel that was on the corner a used it to beat the girl. And then the bloodied body went limp._

_End of Flashback_

Remus tried not to panic. Mary seemed to be stuck in a memory, she was shaking and sweating and she seemed to be having difficulty to breath and was choking very bad. And he could hear her ragging heartbeat thanks to his werewolf hearing.

"No, no! P-please stop it! P-P-Please, I-I'm s-sorry!"

"Mary, you're fine. I'm here with you. Look at me Mary." He tried to 'wake' the trembling girl but his efforts were useless and soon she passed out on his arms. "Mary, no! Please wake up, cub. Wake up for me, please. P-please, Mary!" Tears started to fall from his eyes as he placed the swooned girl on her bed and ran to the fireplace.

He got a pinch of Floo Powder and threw it on the fireplace.

"Hogwarts Hospital Wing" The flames turned green and he put his head on the fire.

"Madam Pomfrey!"

"Remus, my boy, something happened?"

"Please, you need to come here. I-It's Mary, my god daughter! I guess she had a p-panic attack. S-She's bleeding. Come quickly please!" He said distressed.

"Just step out of the fireplace so I can get there through it, Remus."

Remus nodded and stepped out, a minute later Madam Pomfrey came.

"Where is she, Remus?" Poppy asked hurried.

"This way." He ran upstairs with Poppy on his tail.

Mary was lying pale on her bed, her black locks contrasting with her white skin. Her body shaking with every breath. Remus knelt down and held his goddaughters cold hands.

"Remus, you need to leave so I can take care of her." Poppy said gently.

He shook his head.

"Please, Remus, I can't take care of her like that. She'll be fine." She said without hope of convincing her former patient, she could recognize a lost battle.

"I'm not leaving, Poppy. She needs me. She'll be very scared when she wakes up alone with you. I won't leave her side. I only got her back, I can't lose her again" he said the last part to himself and gave Mary's hand another squeeze.

Poppy sighed.

"I need you to tell me what happened, Remus."

Remus started to tell everything to the healer while she worked on the girl. When he finished she said.

"I couldn't do much because her body is too weak and can't bear much magic without permanently damaging her magical core, you should schedule an appointment on St. Mungus for her in a few days, since I'll be travelling tomorrow to meet my family in France." She said almost apologizing. "And you were right, she had a panic attack, she was probably remembering something while telling you all that. She is malnourished as well and severely. It must be going on for years. I will give you the original Nourishment Potion that she has to drink once a day but the Healer on St. Mungus might alter it after seeing the nutrients that her body lacks. She had a few broken ribs and bones that I couldn't fix completely with her like that. The wounds are infected and there wasn't much I could do either, she is too weak and she can't clean it herself, I'm afraid. So you'll have to do it regularly, I cleaned them but that's all I could do, her body cannot bear much magic in the state she is. I'll leave a salve that you'll need to put on the wounds and bruises that will prevent the infection to grow and get worse and a potion for the pain as well."

He nodded. "Will she be fine?"

"Yes, she just needs some rest. Let her last for a few hours, she'll be as fine as can be with everything she's been through when she wakes up. Make sure you put this-"She handed him a salve. "-on her wounds and bruises on her back and belly every time she takes a shower until she's stronger enough to heal it by magic. She has all evidences of abuse, Remus. She will be fine physically but only you will be able to cure the most damaged limb." She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Poppy." She nodded and left.

Remus kneeled down next to his god daughter and started to stroke her hair.

"Everything will be alright, cub. I promise."

**A/N: So... do you like it? (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's chapter three and I particularly love this chapter. It shows a few cute moments of Remus and Mary. Hope you like it as much as I do.**_(I altered a few things on chapter one and two, make sure you read it)_

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter!_**

**Fearful**

**Chapter 3**

Mary woke up alone on a light pink room and didn't know where she was. She began to panic and tried to sit when she felt a sudden pain and all the previous events came back rushing to her mind. She felt the familiar prickling sensation on her eyes but held back the tears and sat on her bed. She looked through the window and what she saw was the most beautiful sight she has ever seen. The sun was setting on the lake and the sky was clear. She didn't know why, but this sight made her feel happy. It was like everything was in its due place. She heard a noise coming from downstairs and she supposed it was her godfather. She felt the urge of going downstairs and apologize for being such a bother and made her way to him and did as her instinct told her. If she was still alive was because of it. She arrived in the kitchen and he was reading a book while drinking tea.

"Hello cub, how are you feeling?" He looked up, smiled towards her and mentioned her to come closer.

"I-I'm f-fine, thank you. I w-wanted to apo-apologize for b-being such a burden a-and giving y-you a hard time." She lowered her gaze. "P-Please don't s-send me back there." She said quietly.

"Mary, look at me." When she looked he locked their eyes. "You're not a burden, I was worried about you. When you wouldn't answer me I didn't know what to do. I want to take care of you like I should have done all these years; I want to give you the opportunity of being a child and to be loved that you deserve. You are the most important thing in my life, Mary, and I couldn't bear losing you again. I'm here for you now and nothing you do can make me send you back there, understand?" She nodded and was about to say something but he interrupted her. "You're safe here, nobody will ever hurt you. I love you, Mary." He reached for her and gave her a hug, she tensed. He looked down at her. "What about you go take a bath, I'll put a salve on those wounds and then I'll tell you more about your parents? How does that sound to you, Mmm?"

"O-okay, Mr. Lupin"

He mocked a horrified gasp and then said. "Never, ever, call me that again. Call me Remus, Moony or any variation of those but, please, _never_call me _Mr. Lupin_ or _sir_ again or you'll suffer the consequences." And with that he began to tickle her and her laugh filled the house, he discovered that he loved that sound. He smiled seeing her so carefree, that's how he was determined to make that Mary show up more from now on. He soon stopped when he remembered that probably, she was still in pain. "Okay, go ahead." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and watched her go.

"_I should start making dinner."_ He thought and with that he began making fish and chips since he forgot asking her what she wanted to eat. He let his mind drift into thoughts while he cooked. _"How could someone hurt a child? I could pay a visit to them on the full moon and let them feel the pain they made her feel."_He sighed. When he finished he went upstairs to her bedroom, he knocked and waited.

Less than a minute later, Mary opened the door, her hair wet. She was wearing an orange dress that Remus remembered stocking on her wardrobe – he made a mental note to remember to shrink her clothes a little because those he bought we're big since he didn't know she was so tiny. She stepped out of the way quickly so he could come in.

" Mary, let's get this over with. Come here. It might hurt a bit, okay?" She nodded apprehensively and walked towards him. "Turn around, Mary. I'll start with your back." She obeyed and he opened the zipper of her dress and pulled it down. He had to bit his lip to prevent letting a gasp escape. Mary's cheeks were a dark shade of pink and she was glad Remus couldn't see it. _"He's trying to help you, stop being silly and an ungrateful freak."_She had to bit her lip hard to stop herself from whimper out loud. He started rubbing the salve on a particularly inflamed wound and she flinched away.

"S-sorry, sorry." She said quickly.

"That's okay, it will be over soon." A moment later. "Okay Mary, turn around." She turned with her head down because she didn't want him to see the tears that were falling. She knew he would be mad if he saw her crying. She tried her best not to make a sound but as he was approaching her ribs she couldn't help it and let a whimper escape. "It's okay, it's over now." He helped her put her dress on and noticed the tear stained face. "Oh, Mary!" He wiped her tears with his thumb. Shhh. I'm so sorry, but it'll help to make it better." . "What about some dinner, Mmm?"

"I'm s-sorry, sir. P-please d-don't be mad. I-I'll do it now! I-I'm sorry, p-please don't hit m-me!" She said scared and running towards the door.

"Whoa, Mary, slow down. What are you talking about? Of course I'm not mad, why would I be?"

"I-I f-forgot to make d-dinner." She said quietly.

"You don't need to make dinner Mary. I'm the adult and you're the child, let _me_ take care of things." He went to where she was standing and bent down to her level. "And I would _never, ever_hurt you; nothing you can do could make me hit you. Listen, cub, what they did was wrong, very wrong. You did _not_ deserve anything they did or said to you. I'm here for you now, I'll protect you and keep you safe, and I'll look out for you like I promised your mother. I love you little girl." With that he gave a kiss on her forehead and extended his hand. "Let's go?"

She looked hesitantly and grabbed his hand and they went together downstairs.

"I made fish and chips, do you like it? I forgot to ask you what you wanted for dinner." She nodded, even if she hadn't eaten it before.

When they arrived at the kitchen he waved his wand and the plates were on the table together with the food.

"Wow" Remus heard his god daughter murmuring and chuckled.

"You've seen nothing, Mary. There's so much more! I'll show you later, okay?"

"O-okay, thank you si- Remus." He smiled. _"She's__too__polite, this is not normal for any 9 year-old girl."_He thought. He sat at the table and motioned for her to seat. She sat and he started to serve the plates, and then began to eat. After a few bites he noticed that she was not eating. "Eat up, Mary."

"D-don't I have t-to wait?" He looked at her incredulously.

"Of course not!" He said thinking one more time about going to pay a visit for these muggles on the full moon.

"B-but-"

"Look, Mary, this is your home. The rules are different, and nothing those people said to you has a value here, okay? You can do whatever you want and we'll _together_ set some rules later." He smiled reassuringly.

"Okay" She said and started eating like a starved dog.

"Slow down, cub or you'll choke! Eat slowly, the food won't go away and you can eat as much as you want."

"T-the food i-is delicious, sir- Remus, t-thank you."

"Why thank you, Mary and you're welcome." He smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot! _Accio Nourishment Potion._" At first nothing happened but then a vial with some green liquid flew to his hand. "Here, drink this; it'll give you some of the nutrients that your body needs." She took the vial and drank the Potion trying to not make a face at the taste and put the vial back on the table.

After dinner Remus led Mary to the living room and lit up the fire. He sat on the couch and nodded for her to sit beside him ignoring sadly that she was about to sit on the floor.

"Where to start... How about you ask me what you want to know and I'll answer? How does that sound to you, Mmm?" He said resting his head on the back of the couch.

She looked at him hesitantly and Remus nodded in reassurance. "W-what were their names, R-Remus?" Remus tried to ignore the pain on his chest when she asked that. He started thinking how her life would've been if her mom hadn't died of if her dad hadn't betrayed his best friends. Merlin, even if he was the one to raise her. A child should grow up being loved and cared about. He felt guilty about not being there for her all this time, he had failed his promise. _'Stop it, Remus! It won't do any good keep thinking of "what ifs", it won't change the past.'_

"Their names were Olivia and Sirius" He smiled sadly as he saw his goddaughter mouthing their names. "We used to call your mother Liv, only your dad used to call her Amy, because of her middle name. She was best friends with a girl named Lily; we all met on the first day of Hogwarts as we all were sorted for Gryffindor – one of the Hogwarts houses." He explained. "I became friends with your father on the Hogwarts Express, we were four: Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and I were known as The Marauders, your father and James liked to play pranks especially on the Slytherins – another Hogwarts house." He tried not to feel sad as he remembered the good times, before everything ended in a blink on that fateful night. "At first your mom and Lily didn't like us, they would call us immature and dunderhead every chance they got, mostly Lily. On our second year we became friends with your mother, but Lily and especially James still fought a lot... Your mom always said they would end up married and they did. Your dad went on dates with every girl on Hogwarts until he and your mum started dating on our sixth year. After Hogwarts he and James went to work as aurors-"

"W-what is an a-auror?" She asked scared of him being mad at her because she interrupted.

"Is like a police man, aurors fight against dark wizards."

"Oh"

"Your mother worked on the Department of Magical Law Enforcement but there was a war going on that time and they left their jobs to join the Order of the Phoenix – an organization that fought against Voldemort."

"W-who is Voldemort?" He sighed as he entered on the bad part of this story.

"You need to understand Mary, that there isn't just good wizards in the world, there is a lot of bad wizards too and one day, one of them went as bad as you can think of, maybe even worse. He believed that muggles who were born with magic blood shouldn't be allowed to study magic and that, wizards and witches shouldn't relate with muggles at all. He started to gather followers, those were called Death Eaters. He killed a lot of people, those were dark times, and no one knew who could trust." She looked at him with bulging eyes. "L-Lily and James got married and had a son, Harry and made your parents his godparents; he is two years older than you. Voldemort wanted to kill them and they went into hiding, one fateful night of H-Halloween he went to their house and m-murdered Lily and James, when he tried to kill Harry he couldn't and the curse backfired and he is gone for almost 11 years." He couldn't bring himself to tell the part that Sirius had of the murderer of his best friends. "Even in these days people are still afraid of speak his name, they call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"W-what happened to H-harry?" She was trying hard to don't cry. She couldn't explain but she felt linked to the boy somehow.

"H-he went to live with his muggle aunt and uncle, Lily's sister." He said sadly.

"A-and my parents?" She asked with watering eyes.

Remus didn't know why he said that. He didn't even register as the words spilled from his mouth. He was shocked with his own words. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want her to know that her own father betrayed his best friends for the Dark Lord and got them killed, either. Not now, anyway. Maybe he would tell her later. He tried not to think about the disappointment Liv must be feeling, and Sirius? He has a daughter and doesn't even know! Not the he deserve this adorable girl, anyway. "Y-your dad died in the war."

"W-what?" Was the only thing she managed to say after she heard the words. She deep inside knew that was some part of the reason she was at the orphanage but she couldn't help but believe it when the Clarks told her her parents didn't want her. Hearing these words made it feel more real. A part of her still hoped that he was alive, and now it was gone. He wasn't alive. He was dead.

Remus felt even guiltier when she froze and started crying hard. He pulled her to his lap and buried her face on his neck and rubbed her back in a soothing way. He could hear her sobs his heart broke. Why didn't he tell her the truth? Would she be worse if he had told her everything? "I'm sorry." He told her, even if she couldn't understand the real meaning of those words.

After a few minutes she calmed down enough so she could form a coherent answer.

"D-don't b-be h-he's in a b-better p-place n-now." _'If only she knew'_He thought. His heart was heavy and he only managed to nod.

They stood a few minutes immersed on their own thoughts until Mary spoke.

"R-Remus, w-what happened t-to my mum?" She asked quietly.

"A month after what happened to your dad-" He couldn't bring himself to say 'death' again. "She discovered that she was pregnant."

Mary raised her head from her godfather's shoulder and looked at him in the eyes.

"She was so happy when she discovered that you we're a girl, she bought pink baby clothes for you and I helped her to build a bedroom for you on her old flat." Remus smiled at the memory. "You were like a spark that warmed her life after everything that happened. But then she was attacked by Bellatrix Lestrange and discovered that she had a risky pregnancy. She was so scared of losing you! I don't know much about the night you were born, I just know that she had a haemorrhage while the labour was happening and her last wish was for the healers to help you survive, and then s-she d-died." His voice failed at the end. He never talked to anyone about this, all his friends were dead or in prison, and not that he still thought of Sirius as his friend, his friend Sirius died the night that he betrayed his friends.

He held his goddaughter as she cried and did not notice when tears fell from his eyes. After a while both were grieving in silence. Mary had her head resting on her godfather's shoulder and let out a yawn.

"Okay, bedtime little Mary." Any other nine year-old would have fought to stay up since it was 8:45 p.m., but not Mary. She got up from his lap and said "G-good Night, R-Remus and thank you."

"For what, Mary?"

"For g-going to g-get me t-there, f-for t-telling m-me a-about m-my p-parents and f-for everything e-else y-you d-did to me. I-it w-was t-the best d-day of my life."

He got up and hugged her tight, she flinched. "You don't have to thank me for anything, Mary." He kissed her head. "Go to bed, I'll be right up to tuck you in ok?"

"Y-you d-don't have t-to..." She blushed. She didn't want to bother him with that, even if she was eager for him to do it. She knew better than ask.

"I _want_ to. Of course if you don't want me to go, I won't." He teased.

"No! I-I m-mean-" She said scared.

He chuckled. "That's okay, Mary. Go get ready, and I'll be right there to tuck you in."

She nodded and hurried upstairs, well as much as she could with all the pain in her body.

Remus sighed sadly as he thought about what she told him a few minutes ago. _"It was the best day of my life."_ A day having a panic attack, learning about how her mum and supposedly her dad died and about a war was the best day of her life? He couldn't even think about what she must have been through besides what he knows about without seeing red and considering not for the first time letting Monny go wild on that muggles' neighboorhood.

He calmed down and cleared his mind of the thoughts of guilt and the talk they had before going upstairs. He knocked and then entered. Mary was lying on her bed with the stuffed black dog by her side.

"Hey." Remus went to the bed and sat on the edge. "I see you liked your black dog." She nodded. "Does he have a name?"

She nodded again. "I-I t-thought a-about Paddy b-because of h-his p-pads."

Remus froze, she named the black dog - her father's animagus form – 'Paddy' while her father's animagus name was Padfoot.

Seeing the look on his face she backed away. "I-I'm s-sorry. I-I s-shouldn't h-have named h-him. It's s-stupid. P-Please d-don't be mad."

"Hey, Hey! I'm not mad, I'm just surprised, and that's all. We-" He swallowed. "We used to call your dad Padfoot because of his animagus form. But I'll tell you about this later, you and Paddy need to sleep, it's late."

She seemed surprised and nodded. Remus tucked the blanket around her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"Good night, cub. Sleep well, I love you."

He saw her close her eyes and keep stroking her hair until her breath deepened. He laid one more kiss on her forehead and adjusted the blanket around her and then got up and went downstairs to his study.

He grabbed a cup of firewhiskey and let himself think about that talk. Why did he tell her that Sirius died? What would be her reaction if she learned that he lied to her? He reassured himself that she couldn't learn about it anywhere since it has been almost 11 years and people did not talk about it anymore. And also reassured himself that he would tell her the truth before she learned it other way.

He allowed himself to grieve his friends' death. To think about the good moments and the last time they saw each other. He allowed himself to feel guilty about not being there when Mary was born, wishing one more time he wasn't a werewolf so that night of full moon when she was born he would've been there. He would've been able to raise her and maybe even Harry. Harry. How was he doing? Were his aunt and uncle treating him well? He couldn't make himself believe it, no matter how hard he tried.

He was lost in thoughts when he heard a blood freezing scream that he recognized as Mary's and ran faster than he ever had to her bedroom.

_It was dark and filthy; she was in the attic waiting for her punishment to begin. She was praying for God that they would make it fast and that she would survive._

_Brandon Clark entered the room carrying a strap and a belt and began to walk towards her once he spotted her in the dark._

_"Well, well, well, let's begin with our game, freak."_

_He began to hit her with the strap, kick her and yell at her. She began to choke and when she put her hand in her mouth she saw the red blood._

_"P-please stop!"_

_"Shut up freak, if you can still talk than you weren't beaten enough. Do you know why I'm doing this? Because you deserve it, you don't worth the air that you breathe. You should have died with your parents instead of being dropped here. You're stupid, ungrateful, retarded, brat. You don't deserve love or a family. Everyone hates you." It wasn't Brandon that was speaking those words, it was Remus._

_She couldn't speak as he hit and kicked her. She was too scared to say anything, she just screamed. Remus continued to say those things to her._

_"Look at our favourite freak now, like she deserves."_

"Mary, Mary." She heard a distant voice calling her.

_"Stupid, ridiculous, brat, freak, worthless piece of trash." He continued on and on._

"Mary" She felt someone shaking her and screamed again."Mary, cub, I'm here for you, please wake up."

She opened her eyes to look at Remus concerned face; she backed away from him as much as she could.

"Mary, it was just a dream. It's over now." He reached for her and she got up from the bed abruptly and tried to run but she tripped and fell over. She crawled until her back was touching the wall and stood there her head on her knees.

Remus was horrified at her reaction when he tried to approach her. He began to walk slowly towards her and knelt by her side.

"Mary, cub, are you okay?" He put a hand on her knee; she screamed and tried to back away even more. "Mary, Mary, what happened? You're okay, it was just a dream. It's over now. Calm down, cub, please, for me." He put two fingers under her chin and lifted it. "Look at me Mary, It's Remus. Your godfather, it's just me Mary. Calm down, baby." And then it clicked, she was afraid of him! He looked at his cub and she was shaking, trying her best to get away from him. "Oh, Mary." He sat by her side and held her in his arms as she struggle to get away. "Concentrate on my voice Mary, just on my voice ok? I would never, ever hurt you Mary. I would die before hurting you. It was just a bad dream, cub. It's over now, I'm here for you. I won't leave you. I love you, Mary."

He started to say soothing words as he rubbed her back, after a while she began to relax and rested her head on his chest. She clung on his shirt and continued sobbing. Remus began to worry as nothing he was doing was working to calm the little girl down. He silently summoned Paddy and gave it to her; she held her stuffed animal tight. Remus got up holding her on his hip – not taking time to duell on the fact that he wouldn't be able to do that with any oyher nine year old - and began to make his way downstairs. He managed to sit the sobbing girl on the counter and grabbed a glass of milk of the fridge and warmed it with a warming charm.

"Here, baby, drink this." She looked at him uncertainly and he said. "That's okay, is just warm milk. It'll help you to calm down." She grabbed the glass with her shaking hand that wasn't holding Paddy and began to drink as Remus rubbed her back. In a second the cup slipped of her sweaty hand and fell on the floor, breaking into pieces and pouring warm milk all over her.

She looked at Remus scared and tried to back away but Remus held her by the arm.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm s-s-sorry. P-Please, d-don't h-hit m-me!"

"Mary, Mary calm down! Are you hurt, the milk burned you? Here, let me help you." He pointed his wand at her and said the incantation 'Scourgify' and her pyjamas were clean. " Mary, I won't hurt you. Please stop struggling, cub." He managed to hold her on place and looked at her. She was looking scared at him and then at the broken cup, then he understood. "That glass isn't a problem, cub. Look: 'Reparo'." He pointed his wand and the broken pieces vanished and there was a cup there. "I would never hurt you. No matter what you do. I love you, kiddo."

When he was sure she wouldn't try to run, he grabbed another cup of milk and warmed it, now helping her to drink it. He rubbed her head and back for a while and she calmed down a bit.

"Want to say what was your nightmare about, darling?" She shook her head. "It really helps."

"I-I c-can't."

"Why not, cub?"

"I-I'm n-not allowed t-to tell a-anyone about m-my dreams."

"Yes, you are cub." He tried to not let her see the anger that he was feeling towards the muggles. "If you have another nightmare or just want to ask or tell me something, anything, you can anytime you want." She nodded and he waited for her to begin. She was scared he would hit her after she told him what it was all about. He took her away and stayed with her after a nightmare and she was ungrateful. Deep inside she knew he wouldn't hurt her, but she couldn't believe it now. "I won't be mad at you cub. I won't hurt you."

After a moment she began spilling everything and Remus stood there listening and soothing her and when she finished he hugged her for dear life.

"It was just a nightmare, cub. I'm not like him; I would never, ever hit you or say those things to you. Don't believe in anything that he said ok? You're sweet, well behaved and a very good girl and I love you, your parents loved you-" He was sure if Sirius knew about her he would love her to death. "-and I'm sure everyone that you'll meet will love you as well. And I'll never leave you, Mary. You deserve everything that's good in the world; you deserve to be loved more than anyone I know." He grabbed her in his arms and held her in his hip and went upstairs while talking. "I'll repeat this until you understand, do you hear me?" She nodded. "Good, let's get you to bed." She began to struggle. "I'll stay with you until you sleep ok?"

"O-okay."

He tucked her and Paddy in and sat by her side over the blankets.

"Close your eyes, little Mary. I'm here for you, and no one will ever hurt you." He started to stroke her hair and felt her body relaxing.

"W-will you stay here?" She asked sleepy.

"I won't leave your side." Remus reassured. "I love you, cub."

"I love you too, _Uncle Remus_."

Remus smiled at how she called him, it was just how he imagined being called as she grew up. He felt warm inside. His poor cub has been through so much and was still willing to trust someone. He stood there stroking her hair and making sure that she hadn't another nightmare and soon he fell asleep with his arm protectively around her and sitting in the edge of her bed.

**A/N: I don't like that Remus says that Sirius is dead that but you'll see why later. So… what do you think about this chapter?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and subscribes (:**_(I altered a few things on chapters 1, 2 and 3, make sure you read it)_

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter!_**

Chapter 4-

Mary slowly opened her eyes and waited to get used to the sunlight. It was finally morning, last night was over. She remembered everything that happened from the time she fell asleep until she fell asleep with Remus by her side.

She felt someone stroking her hair and looked up for a confirmation of her thoughts. Amber eyes were staring at her like they could read her.

'Good Morning, cub.'

'Good Morning, Uncle Remus.' She answered automatically as she rubbed her eyes. Then she noticed what she said and tried to back away. 'S-Sorry, i-it slipped. I-it won't happen again.'

Remus frowned. 'Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for.'

'B-but -'

'I like it, I really do. You don't know what it means to me when you call me that.'

'R-Really?' She sat crossed leg in front of him and winced when she tried to get up fast. Her whole body was aching.

He nodded. 'It remembers me of how things should have been.' He smiled sadly.

'Oh' she looked down as he studied her. After a few minutes she said. 'Y-you r-really stayed.' It wasn't a question.

'Of course I did. I said I would, didn't I?'

She nodded apprehensive 'B-but y-you didn't need t-to. I-I'm sorry f-for asking you t-to s-stay, I-I wasn't thinking. I-It w-was v-very u-ungrateful of m-my part, I d-don't w-want to be a trouble.'

He sighed. 'You really need to stop worrying and apologizing Mary Mae. I would have stayed even if you hadn't asked me to; I would never live you alone like that.'

'T-thank you.'

'Not for it.' He smiled. 'How are you feeling? After everything that happened last night, I mean.'

'I-I'm good, t-thank you. I-It wasn't t-that b-bad last night, n-not c-compared of w-when I-I was in the o-o-orphanage.' She looked down and flushed. 'I-I f-felt safe when y-you w-were here.'

'I'm glad that I helped. I'll be here as long as you need me to.' He tried to get those horrible thoughts out of his head _'If last night wasn't bad, what was bad for her?' _ 'And physically how are you feeling? Does anywhere hurt?'

'I-I'm fine.' She bit her lip and looked down avoiding his eyes.

'Hey-' He raised her chin. 'You can tell me. Where does it hurt?'

'M-my whole b-body is aching, e-especially my ribs. T-The cuts a-are stinging and b-burning. And I-I have an h-headache.' She bit her lip again, waiting for the shouting begin. They used to do that in the orphanage, pretend to worry about her well being only to scream at her when she answered.

'I'm sorry, cub. What about we eat breakfast, I'll give you a potion for pain and then you can go with me to St. Mungo's to schedule an appointment for you?'

'W-what is S-St. Mungo's?'

'Is a hospital for witches and wizards. You need to go for a check up. Madam Pomfrey couldn't heal you completely yesterday because you were too weak and your body couldn't bear much magic.'

'M-Madam Pomfrey?' She asked trying to remember anyone coming here yesterday.

'She came here after you passed out; she said she couldn't heal you by magic without damaging you magical core because you were exhausted and overwhelmed. She cleaned your injuries but it was all. She advised me to schedule an appointment for you.'

'I've n-never g-gone to an h-hospital.' She said under her breath.

'WHAT?' Remus wasn't supposed to hear but thanks to his werewolf hearing he was able to. She looked at him frightened. 'Y-you've never g-gone to a hospital? When you got sick, what they did?' He tried to control his temper but it was hard even for him that was known as 'the responsible and controlled marauder'.

'N-no. T-they l-let me l-locked i-in the bedroom d-doing some chore t-that I c-could d-do even sick. And i-if I-I didn't f-finished...' She shook her head and tried to ignore the pain she felt. 'T-they d-didn't w-want anyone t-to find out w-what they did.' She said quietly. This innocent kid in front of him that looked like a five or six-year-old not a soon-to-be ten had gone through many things that most of adults couldn't even imagine. How someone could do that to a child was beyond his knowledge.

'Oh, Mary.' He hugged her and kissed her head. 'I'm so sorry. I wish I could change the past.' He said sadly.

'T-that's o-okay. I-I got used to i-it.' He tried to ignore the pain on his chest when he heard that words coming from her sounding like the obvious thing. He shook his head. No one should be exposed to situation like those she'd been through and even less get used to something like that.

'I'll make things right for you. Starting with a huge breakfast and then we can go to St. Mungo's.' He saw the fearful glance she gave him. 'It's not that bad, I'll be there with you the whole time and besides, today we're just going to schedule an appointment, I bet not much has changed on your well being from yesterday.' She nodded. 'Let's go downstairs.' They got on their feet; Remus put an arm around her shoulder and led her to the kitchen. 'What do you want to eat, cub?'

She shrugged.

'Choose something and _I_ will cook it for us okay?'

'A-anything you w-want is fine f-for me, U-Uncle Remus.' She looked down.

'I won't fall for it. You choose, _I_ cook.' She gave him an unsure glance. He said as he was reading her mind. 'There isn't right or wrong answer, you won't get in trouble for choosing, I promise.'

'O-okay. C-could we have p-pancakes?' She asked shyly

'Sure.'

'D-do you want a-any help? I-I can cook i-if you want.'

'No, I'll cook.' He left no room for argue.

She said and watched as he summoned the ingredients and started to make pancakes. The smell was mouth-watering. With a flick of his wand two plates of pancakes were on the table.

'Wow' Mary said as her god father chuckled at her reaction.

'Practical isn't it?' She nodded. 'Let's eat!' Mary waited until he had taken a bite to start eating; she still had a feeling that what she was doing was wrong.

After breakfast they both went to get ready to go to St. Mungo's.

'Okay, cub. We are going by Floo.' Seeing that she didn't understand he explained. 'Floo is a way of transportation used by witches and wizards, it's basically travelling by the fireplace but you won't get burned. All you need to do is say clearly the name of your destination and throw a pinch of Floo Powder on the fire.' He thought it was better not to tell her that if you said the destination wrong you could get lost. 'Ready?' He looked at her and noticed she was scared. He kneeled in front of her so their eyes were on the same level. 'Hey, There is no need to be scared. You want to go with me?' He soothed her.

She seemed afraid to answer but with a reassuringly smile she nodded.

'I'll pick you up okay?' He didn't want to cause unwanted surprises; he knew she was still scared of sudden movements of acts of affection. She nodded again and he scooped her up into his arms, she put her arms around his neck and they went to the fireplace, he threw a pinch of Floo Powder on it and screamed. 'St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!'

They were turning round and round passing through the fireplaces and Mary was almost suffocating Remus when they arrived at their destination. They went towards the reception.

'Hello, I'd like to schedule an appointment for my god daughter.' He said to the old witch on the reception.

'Children's Ward - Third Floor, dear.' She smiled at them. Remus nodded thanks and they went to the lift.

The third floor was colourful and had a lot of toys, the walls had portraits of animals and broomsticks that move and a lot of kids were there. Mary was fascinated by the moving portraits.

'They move!' She exclaimed to Remus who only nodded amused.

Remus put her down and went to the reception with his god daughter by his side.

'Hi, I'd like to schedule an appointment for my god daughter.' He repeated.

'Is her first time here or is a return, dear?' She asked kindly.

'First time.'

'Okay, then fill this form for me and then we can schedule.' She gave him the form and a kill and he went to sit on the couch with Mary.

'Do you want to play, cub?' He looked at her who shook her head. He sighed. _'She is scared even of people her own age.'_

He started to fill the form.

Full name of the patient: _Mary Mae Black_

Birthday: _August 1__st__, 1982_

Mother: _Olivia Amy James_ Father: _Sirius Orion Black_

The list went on and on with basic questions. When he reached the topic 'others' he wrote.

_Legal Guardian: Remus John Lupin_

_Suffered from child abuse on a muggle orphanage._

When he finished he noticed Mary was absorbed in thoughts and went to give the form to the receptionist. Mary saw him leaving and jumped on her feet and run to him panicked.

'D-Don't l-leave me.' She said with tears in her eyes.

'Oh baby!-' He kneeled to her level. 'I wasn't leaving you; I was just going to the reception to give this form to the receptionist.' He showed the form to her.

'Oh.' She said embarrassed and wiped her tears.

'Come with me.' He held her hand and they went together to the reception.

He gave the form to the witch who was not much older than he.

'Thank you.' She said and took a look at the paper. Her eyes went wide when she read what was in the end. 'Oh Merlin! Poor kid.' She said and Remus smiled uncomfortably, Mary looked down. 'Do you have any preference of date, Mr. Lupin?'

'Next week would be best, if it's possible. Any day.'

She nodded. 'Okay, so I'll schedule her on Wednesday 11 am for Healer Catherine Adams.'

'Okay, thank you.'

The witch smiled. 'No problem, dear.'

'Let's go home, cub.' Remus said to his god daughter, picking her up one more time and flooing home.

'Hello Professor Dumbledore, thank you for coming.'

'Not at all Remus, and please call me Albus, you're not my student anymore. Albus Dumbledore said with the familiar twinkle in his eyes.

Remus nodded. 'I suppose Poppy already told you what she witnessed yesterday.'

The twinkle faded and the elder's eyes darkened. 'She did. I couldn't have imagined Remus and I apologize. If maybe I searched harder we would've been able to find her sooner and not much damaged would've been caused.'

'It's not your fault headmaster, you didn't know. And it didn't make anything easier the fact that I am a werewolf.' Remus sighed. 'It doesn't do any good thinking of _what if's_ and feeling guilty about it, it won't change the past.'

Albus nodded. 'You're right, my boy. And when do you pretend to tell her about your condition?'

Remus sighed. 'I don't know, Albus. She's gone through so much and I want her to be able to trust me. She's still too scared, even of me and telling her now that once a month I transform into a dangerous beast won't help her.'

'You have to tell her, Remus. If she is anything like her parents she'll surprise you with her reaction. You have to tell her soon, before the full moon so she'll know not to come downstairs.'

The younger nodded again. 'The full moon takes place in two weeks, one day after her birthday, I'll tell her then.'

With the mention of his friends his thoughts drifted not for the first time to the talk he had with his god daughter the day before.

'Is there anything bothering you, my boy?'

Remus shifted uncomfortably on the chair as he felt the headmaster's gaze on him. 'Yes Albus. I had a talk with her yesterday, I told her about the war... and about her parents. Not technically the truth, not about Sirius anyway. I told her he-' Remus looked down in shame. 'He died.'

For a moment Albus Dumbledore stood there speechless and it didn't happen very often.

'I thought I was doing a good thing. I don't want to destroy the image that she has of a good man of a father on her mind. She's been through enough. Imagine how she would feel if she knew her father betrayed his best friends for the Dark Lord and killed 12 muggles and one of his best friends.' Remus held back the tears that always came when she talked about it. 'But now I'm not so sure.'

'You did what you thought the best for her, Remus, don't feel bad about it. As you said she's been through enough but someday you'll have to tell her the truth, the truth always comes for those who seek for information and it doesn't always come as we would like.'

'Believe me, I know. Do you want some tea, headmaster?'

'This would be great Remus, thank you.'

Remus nodded and went to the kitchen to make tea, minutes later he was back.

'Here.' He gave the tea to Albus and sat.

'So, do you plan on putting her on a muggle school?'

Remus shook his head. 'No. Even though it would be good for her to make contact with kids of her age, she is scared of them. I noticed it today when we went to schedule an appointment on St. Mungus. I'll teach her the basics.'

Dumbledore nodded and took a sip of his tea. 'And about that muggles, Remus, do you plan to press charges, I presume?'

'I'll talk to Mary about it but at least now my answer is yes, I'll not let them get away with what they've done.'

'They harmed a magical child so the trial is responsibility of the magical world. I'll take care of things once you inform me of your final decision. Magical and muggle world have a contact, but probably they'll receive their punishment on muggle jail.'

'_People who did this to a child deserve Azkaban.'_ Remus thought. He was about to argument when they heard a noise of footsteps coming from the stairs and a sleepy Mary entered the drawing room. The latter subject forgotten.

'Hey cub, had a good nap?'

Mary nodded and stopped abruptly when she saw a man with a big, white beard looking at her with penetrating blue eyes. Remus followed her gaze and put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

'This is Albus Dumbledore, Mary. He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts and a good friend of mine and your parents.'

'Hello, Mary.' He smiled. 'You look just like your father.'

Inside Mary jumped with joy.

'H-hi, s-sir.' She said shyly and stepped closer to Remus who put an arm around her shoulder.

'That's okay, Mary. He won't hurt you, nobody will.'

'Your god father's right, Mary. You're safe now.' His eyes still without the familiar twinkle. 'How would you like to hear about Hogwarts?'

Mary looked at Remus unsure and he nodded.

'I-I'd love t-to. T-thank y-you, s-sir.'

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. He told her all about the school, houses and mentioned four pranksters but he said he'd left that part for Remus. In the end, Mary was very excited to go to school but couldn't help but feel afraid of not receiving her letter, what if she was... what was it? A squib.

'Well, I better go. I have to prepare the school for a new year. I'm glad that I met you, Mary. See you soon, Mary, Remus.' He nodded and went to the fireplace, and then he stopped. 'I'll wait for your owl.' Remus nodded. The headmaster then went flooing to Hogwarts.

'We need to talk, Mary.' Remus said seriously.

'I-I'm s-sorry. P-Please d-don't.' She backed away with tears in her eyes. Every time someone said that means that a beaten was on its way. Flashbacks of the moments she heard those words flooded her mind.

Remus cursed himself for starting like that; it clearly got her scared of him.

'You've done nothing, cub. I just need to tell you something.' He tried to put a soothing hand on her shoulder but she jumped away. 'Please calm down, Mary. I won't hurt you. Take deep breaths, came on.'

She stopped when she reached the wall and sat down with her head on her knees. Remus bent down and put two fingers under her chin, raising it. She tried to get away of his grip.

'Look at me. It's me Mary, Uncle Remus. I would never hurt you. Yeah, that's it, deep breaths.' After a while she was much calmer and he started to talk.

'Mary, you know that what those muggles did to you was wrong don't you?'

She shrugged.

'What they did was very wrong, cub. No one have the right to treat any live being like that, especially a special one like you.' He sat down in front of her. 'They deserve to be punished for what they did, cub. That's why I'm going to press charges against them, so they pay for what they did to you.'

'NO!' She screamed and trembled. 'N-no, no, n-no! P-Please, d-don't do t-that!'

'Mary, calm down! If you're not calm we can't discuss this rationally.'

'N-NO! You don't u-understand!' She said and everything around them started to shake, paints fell from the wall, glasses have been broken, the table turned and everything started to fly around the room. Mary seemed even paler and scared. 'N-no! I'm s-sorry, I-I d-didn't mean to. P-Please d-do not b-beat me, d-don't l-lock me in the b-basement.' She started to gasp for breath and it won't take much more to the spasms to start.

Remus did the only thing that came to his mind: he held her still in his arms as she trembled.

'Mary, breath! Come on, cub. Look at me in the eyes. That's it, in and out. You did nothing wrong, Mary. I won't hurt or lock you, you're okay, and you're safe. I won't let anything bad happen to you.' He unconsciously started to rock her back and forth mumbling soothing words. After a while she put her head on the curve of his neck and cried. He just held her tight until she was calm enough to talk.

'W-why do they h-hate me Uncle Remus?' She asked quietly. It was not what Remus expected to hear.

'You know, your dad once told me that people don't hate you, they hate what they think you are but they can't hate you if they don't even bothered to get to know who you truly are. You're a good person, Mary and you didn't do anything wrong, they we're just mean because you are different and they tried to get you to be like them by hurting you so you couldn't do what makes you even more special. They can't hate you if they don't know you, and if one truly knows you they won't hate you because you're a great girl. I love you and so do your mother and your father. Never forget that here are people that want you and need you and those who love you never truly leave you. You don't need to be afraid of showing who you truly are, magic isn't a bad thing, it's just misunderstood by some people and it's not good for you to repress it so much because when it comes out it will be much worse for yourself and you will feel even more drained. You don't need to hide anymore, baby, understood?'

She nodded. 'T-thanks Uncle Remus' she said quietly. 'F-for g-giving me a-all I ever w-wanted. I-I l-love you.'

'Oh, cub! I love you too, more than anything. Thank you for accepting me.' He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. You could say that they found comfort in each other's arms.

**A/N: Hello there! I really hope you liked it. I'll start to skip some time, you'll see on the next chapters. Please subscribe/review if you like my story (:**

**xx MP**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's another chapter, hope you like it.**

_**Disclaimer: I DON'T own Harry Potter.**_

Chapter 5- St. Mungus

It's been a week since Remus took Mary away from the orphanage and nothing much happened. Mary was acting more like a child her age and was stuttering less and less each day (Remus noticed that she stuttered when she was scared or nervous). She was still having nightmares about the abuse but not as bad as the first one and she calmed down once she drank a glass of warm milk and she would fall asleep on Remus' arms while he was telling her stories about her parents and he gave her some pictures of them to put in her bedroom. She was glad to finally know how they looked like and to be able to imagine anything other than faceless parents.

Soon enough the day Mary was dreading arrived and she didn't have a nightmare about her life before Remus but she slept uneasily, she was scared of what's going to happen the next day. Her god father reassured her that there was nothing to be afraid of and that he wouldn't leave her side but she couldn't help it. She was afraid that they would discover what Mr. Clark did to her when she lived in the orphanage and for sure they would. What if he came back to hurt her because she let people know about the punishments when she was not allowed to? She fell asleep with that thought in her head.

'Good morning, cub.' Remus entered Mary's room and opened the curtains with a flick of his wand. 'It's time to wake up.'

Mary groaned and hid her face on the pillow. Remus laughed and kneeled by her bed.

'Come on cub.' He shook her. 'We have to eat breakfast and go to your appointment, its already quarter past nine.'

When he mentioned the appointment her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly trying to hide her fear from Remus.

'Whoa Mary, calm down. You'll probably get dizzy.' He chuckled.

She smiled a bit and said a quiet 'good morning'.

'I'll go cook breakfast while you get ready. What do you want to eat today, cub?'

She shrugged and Remus gave her _the_ look.

'I-I'm not hungry, Uncle Remus'

'You have to eat something baby.'

She looked down. 

'M-May I e-eat cereal then?' 

'Sure. Change and come downstairs okay?' Mary nodded and Remus left the room.

She picked a light blue dress that Remus gave her and combed her hair making pig tails brushing her too-long fringe away from her eyes; she would have to find a scissor to trim it later. She went downstairs and when she entered the kitchen Remus was putting her cereal on the table.

'You look cute with your hair like that.' He went over to her and kissed her forehead brushing her fringe aside. 'Your fringe is too long' He said as an afterthought.

'Thank you' she said and her cheeks went bright pink.

_'Just like her mother'_ Remus thought. He smiled. 'Stay still, Mary' he pointed his wand to her face, she backed away. 

'W-What a-are you d-doing?' she stuttered. 

'I'll just trim your fringe a little bit, it's too long.' 

'O-okay.'

With a flick of his want her fringe was shorter; he couldn't help but notice how she was looking young and innocent, more than she already looked. 

'That's better. Go take a look and wash your hands.' a few minutes later she came back. 

'Thanks Uncle Remus' 

'You're welcome cub.' 

They sat and Mary played with her cereal. 

'You have to eat Mary. We are going to the healer today and we dont know if we will be back home before lunchtime.' then it clicked. _The healer_. 'There's nothing to be afraid of, I'll be there with you.' he looked in her eyes and saw fear there. 'I promise.' 

She nodded and ate a little bit, but she was still scared. 

After breakfast they went to the drawing room where the fireplace was.  
>'Do you want to go with me again?' she nodded and he picked her up. 'Let's go then.'<p>

He said their destination and stepped into the fireplace, everything became blurry after that.

'Mary Mae Black?' a young woman called. She had brown hair and eyes; she looked quite young as well. A few of the adults on the room looked up from what they were doing at the mention of the last name of the known mass murderer but Mary didn't noticed, she was too worried about what was going to happen.

Remus and Mary got up and went towards her, that's when Remus noticed she was shaking.

'Cub? Are you okay?' He bent to his knees and asked concerned and for the first time she voiced her fears, she shook her head.

'I-I'm scared, U-uncle Remus. W-What i-if Mr. C-Clark come b-back to h-hurt me b-because I let people d-discover of w-what happened? I-I-I don't w-want to g-go back, _Uncle Remy._' If the moment wasn't so sad he would have smiled of the new nickname but he was foolish enough to believe that she totally understood that nobody would take her away and see her like that, with her eyes full of unshed tears, broke his heart.

'He won't come back, cub. I won't let anyone hurt you or take you away from me. It'll be okay, you want to be fine, don't you?' She nodded. 'So we have to go, trust me cub.'

'I trust you, Uncle Remy.' She said quietly.

'That's all I ask for.' He smiled and stood in his full height and extended a hand for her, she held it and they continued their way towards the healer who was watching smiling their interaction.

'Hello, I'm Remus Lupin and here is Mary, my god daughter.'

'Hello, my name is Healer Catherine Adams.' She smiled at Mary who was shifting nervously feet from feet. 'Shall we enter my office?' They nodded and she led them to her office where they sat and she started to reread Mary's form.

'Why don't you go changing to the hospital gown while I go over this paperwork with your god father, Mary?'

She looked at Remus and he nodded smiling so she nodded.

'Right, the examination room is just through this door sweetie, that's right.' Mary went, leaving them both alone.

'Could you explain me what you know about what happened, Mr. Lupin?'

And he began telling her everything that he knew about the treatment Mary received while she was living at the orphanage and at the end Healer Catherine stood with a hand in her open mouth.

'Poor kid! From what you told me is understandable that she is so scared.' She sighed. 'I'll do what I can today, Mr. Lupin. We better get going, she must be waiting.'

And there she was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, Remus smiled and she returned with a small smile.

'Let's get started, sweetheart. Can you sit here in the examination table, Mary?'

She nodded and tried to pull herself up but she was still too short, suddenly she felt hands on her armpit and looked up startled, Remus smiled and lifted her up to the table.

'I'll run a simple diagnostic spell to know where you are injured so I can fix it okay Mary?'

Mary nodded one more time and the healer smiled and waved her wand over Mary mumbling under her breath words in Latin.

'I can see that she has a few bones and ribs not completely healed, you said that Poppy couldn't heal everything last week?' Remus nodded. 'I will be able to do it now; her body is strong enough to heal with a little help of magic.' She winked at Mary who smiled shyly. 'Stay still okay, Mary. It might sting a bit but it won't last long.' Mary looked at her god father pleading and he walked towards her and stood there by her side.

'I'm here, baby.' She looked at him with –she hoped- a thankful look and he understood with a look in her eyes. She closed her eyes.

Suddenly she felt the places that she knew that were injured sting and then she felt nothing. She opened her eyes gingerly and tried to move, she didn't feel anything.

'Do your ribs and arm are still hurting you?' Hr. Catherine asked.

'N-no.' Mary said in wonder. 'T-thank y-you very much!'

Catherine laughed. 'You're welcome, Mary. Now I need to ask you to take off the hospital gown so I can heal your wounds, your god father can wait outside if you want to.'

'No! P-Please, d-don't m-make me.' She was shaking and Remus hugged her to make her stay still.

'_If I show her, they will take me away. She will realise that I deserve what I got and convince Uncle Remus, then I'll go back to the orphanage and Mr. Clark will know that I told people and he'll be mad.' _Mary thought.

'She won't hurt you, cub. I'm here, let her heal you. I promise that you're safe and that she won't tell anyone.' Remus whispered in her year.

'O-Okay' she calmed down a little bit and took of the hospital gown. Catherine had to suppress a gasp when she saw the almost-mutilated chest.

Burns, wounds, welts and belt and whip marks were covering every part of Mary's body and you could see that the places were planned to be covered by clothes. Mary looked down embarrassed and let Hr. Catherine heal her, she felt her god father squeeze her hand to know that he was there.

Catherine saw a particular big and infected wound on Mary's shoulder and couldn't help but ask -

'Could you tell me how this happened, sweetie?' She gestured for Mary's shoulder when she looked up. Remus squeezed her hand one more time.

'I-I was d-doing the g-gardening, b-but i-it began t-to rain a-and when _he_ arrived I-I hadn't f-finished t-the g-garden s-so h-he h-hit me w-with t-the s-shovel.' Mary said so quietly that they had to get closer to hear. Mary shook her head trying to get off the memory.

Catherine knew better than to ask who was _he_. She and Remus exchanged a look. 'I'm so sorry, sweetie. What he did was very wrong, you didn't deserve it.'

Mary shrugged looking down.

'You didn't Mary, you know that. We already talked about it.' Remus said.

Catherine began to heal the rest of the wounds and as much as she wanted to she couldn't bring herself to ask how that happened and see that haunted look in those big grey eyes.

When she was finished she helped Mary to dress the hospital gown.

'Mary could you tell me when was the last time you took a vaccine?' Catherine asked.

'I-I d-don't t-think I've e-ever t-took one.' She answered quietly.

'But how could you go to school then?'

'I-I g-guess they f-faked t-the p-portfolio.'

The healer tried to ignore the angry thoughts in her mind and said as soothingly as she could.

'I'm afraid you'll have to take them now, sweetheart.'

'W-What?' Mary looked up.

'Your mother was a half-blood so you still have a bit of muggle blood in your veins and you still can get some muggle diseases as well as magic ones like Dragon Pox that's like Chicken Pox and we don't want that, do we?'

Mary shook her head, her godfather had explained her about 'blood pureness' not that she cared about it, she was not like her father's family.

'It's necessary cub, we don't want you getting sick and it will be over soon.' Mary nodded _'if Uncle Remus say that it's necessary than I trust him.'_ She thought.

'I'll be right back.' Catherine left the room.

'D-Does i-it hurts, U-Uncle Remus?'

'Depends of the person, cub. Some say it does, some say it doesn't but I'm here, you don't have to be scared.' She nodded.

A few minutes later Catherine came back with 4 vaccines.

'I have here one for muggle diseases, one for tetanus, one for Dragon Pox and one for the magical flu. But before that I'll have to draw some blood, so we can make your potion.' _'And check how severe is your malnutrition' _she added as an afterthought. 'I'm sorry, Mary.'

'I-Is not y-your fault.' Mary said and Catherine smiled.

'Can you let me see your arm, the left one?'

Mary extended her arm and the healer searched for a vein to draw blood from.

'When you're ready, Mary.'

Mary nodded for her to start and buried her face in her god father's chest as he held her. She felt the needle penetrating her arm and bit her lip, a minute later it was over.

'Mary, I'll start with the vaccines now okay?'

'O-Okay.' Mary's answer was muffled by her god father's chest.

Mary tried hard not to make a sound and was aware of her god father stroking her hair to calm her down as a few tears fell.

'It's over.' Remus said after a while.

Mary looked at Catherine for a confirmation.

'Indeed it is.' She smiled. 'You know, Mary. You were very brave.'

'T-thank you.' Mary smiled.

'I'll be right back; you can change and wait for me in my office.'

Mary jumped down of the table and felt a wave of dizziness.

'Are you okay?' Remus kneeled in front of her.

'I-I'm j-just a l-little dizzy.'

'It's because of the vaccines. After you rest a little bit you will be fine.' He helped her change and carried her to the office, he sat with her on his lap and she leaned on his chest. 'Rest a little, cub.' She closed her eyes and soon she was asleep.

A few minutes later, Hr. Catherine Adams came back with a vial she smiled when she saw the little girl asleep.

'She will need to rest a lot, especially these next days. It'll be imperative for her recovery. Here is the potion, you will have to give her every day for indefinite time; she is suffering from severe malnutrition.' Remus nodded. 'It is also normal that she is still scared and stuttering but she seems to trust you a lot.' Remus smiled.

'Thank you, Healer Catherine.' Remus got up and extended a hand for her, careful to not wake his sleepy god daughter.

'No need, Mr. Lupin.' She smiled and shook his hand. 'Oh, and give Mary this will you?' She gave him a Chocolate Frog.

He nodded and thanked her one more time and apparated home, he wasn't so fond of Floo Network.

He put Mary in her bed and kissed her temple.

'Sleep well, cub.'

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate it (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter, it's for sure my favourite until now (: **

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**_

Chapter 6: Birthday and Secrets

_August 1st, 1992._

Not every day is your 10th birthday and Mary could say that her birthday was like every day, if not worse. Where she spent the most part of her 10 years of life people never acknowledge her birthday or did everything they could to make it even more miserable. But this time it would be different, not that she was expecting presents, Remus already gave her more than she ever asked and the thing she wanted the most her whole life: Love.

He gave her a home, tucked her in every night, wiped her tears, with him Mary felt safe, he made her laugh and told her about her parents; she felt loved and wanted with her god father. She was happy just to be here with him, it was already the best birthday.

It was still early, too early but Remus didn't care. Today is his god daughter's 10th birthday and even his sickness pre-full moon or knowing that 10 years ago he lost his last remaining friend would stop him from make it the best birthday she ever had. Not that it was a difficult thing to do; he doubted that the muggles did anything on her birthday.

He went to the kitchen and started to decorate it with balloons, flowers and a banner saying _'Happy 10__th__ Birthday, Mary!'_ flashing in several different colours. When he finished it was already 9 a.m. he decided to wake Mary up, they would be going to a very special place today.

He arrived at the bedroom that was still too neat for a 9-year-old, even for a girl. But again he doubted that she had anything to call hers before. He chuckled when he saw Mary sleeping with Paddy over her head. With a flick of his wand the curtains were open.

He kneeled beside her bed like he did almost every day and shook her. She groaned.

'Wake up, cub.' She rubbed her eyes and looked at him. 'Happy Birthday, birthday girl.'

'You remembered.' She said simply. Remus felt a pang on his chest.

'Of course I did. Is not every day that my god daughter turns ten.' He smiled and she returned. 'How does it feel being 10?'

'I can't feel any difference.' She frowned.

He laughed. 'Neither did I, but when you get old you start to feel it. Now, let's have some breakfast and then we are going to a special place.' She nodded, jumped out of bed and hugged Remus. He smiled and hugged back, she was getting better each day. 'What was that for?' She shrugged and smiled. 'I could get used to it.' He held her hand and led her downstairs.

The kitchen door was closed and Mary, after being encouraged, reached to open. She gasped and her eyes filled with tears, it was for sure the best birthday she ever had. She turned around and hugged her god father, thanking him countless times.

They sat down at the table and started to eat chocolate pancakes, Mary proved herself to be – after she tried for the first time - addicted to chocolate as much as Remus and that is saying something.

Remus then remembered something –

'Accio Mary's Potion' after a moment the potion flew towards him. 'Drink it up, cub.'

Mary looked at him pleading. Remus knew that even if she didn't voice it she hated the potion but what tore his heart was that any other girl would have complained or whined about it but not Mary, she never did. She took the vial and drank the potion, shaking her head to try to get rid of the awful taste.

'Take a bite, cub. Chocolate will help.' She nodded, it did help.

'Uncle Remus?'

'Mm?'

'Where- Where are we g-going today?'

'To Diagon Alley'

'Really?' She could barely keep the excitement of her voice. Uncle Remus told her all about the wizarding world, including Diagon Alley.

He nodded smiling. And Mary practically swallowed her food and choke. Remus was by her side in a minute, rubbing her back.

'Chew and swallow okay? Diagon Alley won't run away if you finish your breakfast normally.' He chuckled, she blushed.

When they finished eating Remus asked her to change to the robes he bought her and to meet him in the drawing room.

'You look beautiful, cub.'

'Thank you, Uncle Remus.' She blushed; she was wearing purple robes that brought out her bluish-gray eyes.

'Shall we go?' She nodded, Remus picked her up and they _'flooed'_ together to the Leaky Cauldron.

'Wow!' Mary exclaimed, several witches and wizards were talking, plates of food were levitating in the air, drinks were being poured down on glasses by invisible hands, and it was for sure the most magical think Mary has seen until now.

Remus chuckled and put her down; the full moon sickness was getting on him.

'Here, this way.'

Mary held his hand like their life depended on it, she wasn't used to being around so many people and this definitely scared her.

They went to a small courtyard with a trash can behind The Leaky Cauldron where Remus tapped the bricks, three up, two across. Mary looked at her god father confused when the bricks started moving, forming a large archway.

'Welcome to Diagon Alley, Mary.'

'Wow!' Mary seemed to be saying this a lot today.

It was the most amazing thing Mary has ever seen. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes, wands and strange silver instruments she had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...¹ Mary didn't know where to look.

Remus stood there waiting patiently with a smile on his face, he was sure that he was exactly like her when he came here for the first time.

'That's so... so... _magical_!' She said and Remus laughed.

'Couldn't have said it any better myself, cub! We have to go to Gringotts first, that's the wizarding bank.' She looked startled.

'B-but I-I don't have any money, Uncle Remus.'

'Don't worry about it, cub. We are here to buy your birthday present.'

'Y-You don't need to buy me a p-present, Uncle Remus. Y-you already g-gave me more than I ever asked.' She looked uncomfortable.

Remus shook his head; he would not thing about the Muggles now, perhaps tomorrow on the full moon.

'Enough of this Mary, it's your birthday and what kind of birthday would it be if you didn't win presents? Come on, Gringotts is on the other side of Diagon Alley.'

He led her by the hand to Gringotts, her head spinning trying to get a glimpse of everything. When they entered the bank, Mary saw tons of ugly... things working on desks.

'U-Uncle Remus?'

'Mm?'

'What are _they_?' She made a face.

'They are goblins, Mary. They work here. Gringotts is one of the safest places in the world, every vault has special enchantments on them, one would be crazy to try to steal something.'

Mary nodded. They went over to a desk where a goblin named Zignok (it was written on the desk) was writing on a pile of parchment.

'Excuse me?' Remus Lupin said. 'I'd like to make a withdraw from vault 615.'

'Do you have the key?' Zignok grumbled.

'Yes.'

'Pathook will take you to your vault. PATHOOK!' Another goblin appeared. '_They_ want to make a withdraw from vault 615.'

'Follow me.' They sat in a cart that started turning fast, left, left, right, left... Mary was trying to take a better look when her god father grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to his lap. Mary looked at him and saw that he was a bit green.

'Are you okay, Uncle Remus?'

He nodded not trusting himself to speak right now; at least Mary was safe in his lap_. 'What if she fell down and broke her neck or something? Here is too high, too dangerous. She is too much like her parents for her own good - hmph - trying to catch a glimpse of the hallway and almost falling down. No, this way is better.'_

Suddenly the cart stopped abruptly and they almost fell down. Remus took deep breaths.

'Vault 615.'

Remus pulled Mary to his side, so she was sitting beside him. 'Wait _sitting_ here okay? Don't stand or make anything that can cause you to fall and break your neck.' She looked at him funnily and nodded.

'_I guess Uncle Remus doesn't like heights very much.'_

A few minutes later he was back carrying a small bag and immediately pulled her to his lap again, Mary happily rested her head in his chest, she loved to do that.

When the cart stopped again, Remus jumped out of it and Mary followed, they thanked the Goblin (who just grumbled in response) and went outside.

She waited until her god father caught his breath.

'What about some ice cream?' She looked at him uneasy and he smiled at her. He almost forgot about the withdrawn Mary for a moment.

'Come on.' She held his hand as he led her through the crowd. They sat on an outside table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

'What flavour do you want? They have every flavour you can imagine and when I say every I mean it.' She shrugged. 'Come on cub, enough of that. Choose a flavour.'

'I-I r-really don't know.'

Remus sighed. 'Do you like chocolate ice cream?' She shrugged. _'Oh Merlin, could it be...' _'Why don't you try this one, it's like cookies ice cream, you like cookies don't you?'

She nodded. If there was one thing she loved more than chocolate were cookies.

'I'll go get our ice creams, wait here okay? I'll be right back.' He went inside and let her alone. As the minutes passed by she started to get nervous, _'Why isn't he back? Did he leave me? Enough of this nonsense Mary Mae! Uncle Remus said he wouldn't leave you so he won't.' _

Mary got distracted watching several cats on the store in front; a creamy one got her attention.

'Beautiful aren't they?'

'Huh? Uncle Remus, you're back!' He chuckled.

'I told you I'll be back, cub.' She nodded in response. 'Here, your ice cream.'

'Thank you.'

'You're welcome, cub. So, do you like animals?'

'Mhmm.'

'What kind of animals do you like?'

'I-I like c-cats?' He smiled reassuringly. 'I like dogs, as well. I don't like things that slither or have many legs, and rats they give me creeps.' He laughed. She raised an eyebrow making him laugh even more and try to ignore the pain in his chest.

'W-What?' She backed away on the chair.

'You raised your eyebrow just like you mom used to, as well your answer she would have said the same.'

'Really?' He nodded and she smiled.

When both finished eating their ice cream...

'Do you want to see the cats?'

She looked at him with her grey eyes shining. _'Sirius.'_ He thought.

'Let's go.' They crossed the street and entered on Magical Menagerie. It was very cramped and noisy with every inch of wall covered by cages. It sold all kinds of animals - poisonous orange snails, a giant jewel-encrusted tortoise, sleek black rats that are very intelligent, owls, ravens, cats of every colour, fluffy round balls, a Transforming Rabbit and much more.

She went towards the creamy cat that got her attention, noticing that he didn't look like a normal cat. He had flecked fur, large ears and a lightly plumed tail, like a lion and his eyes were bright blue, the colour of the ocean (not that she has ever seen the ocean). She raised her hand to stroke his fur and it meowed.

'He likes you.' The saleswoman said smiling.

'R-Really?' She nodded.

'He never lets anyone stroke his fur, but he let you. He is a part-kneazle, very intelligent animals they are.'

'He is beautiful.'

'He is.' Suddenly Remus was by her side, looking at the half-kneazle. 'Do you like him, Mary?'

'Yeah.' She replied absently.

'I'll take him.' Remus said.

'What? U-Uncle R-Remus you d-don't have to.' Mary stuttered.

'I _want_ to, Mary. Is your birthday, let me buy you a present. You liked him, right?'

She nodded and looked down.

The saleswoman open the cage and the half-kneazle jumped on Mary's arms, she smiled. Remus paid and they left the store.

'Thank you, Uncle Remus.' Mary said for what could be 100th time in the last three minutes.

'You're welcome, cub.' He smiled. 'What's his name?'

'Hmm... Haze.' She said looking down at the creamy half-kneazle.

'It fits.' Remus said thoughtfully.

They had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and then apparated home, much to Mary's dislike. You couldn't Floo with a kneazle.

In the end of the day, Professor Dumbledore flooed their home to wish Mary a Happy Birthday and said that he was looking forward having her as a student the next year, he gave her a book called Hogwarts, A History and she thanked him. They sang Happy Birthday, and Mary's eyes filled with tears it was definitely the best birthday she's ever had.

After dinner Remus called her in the drawing room.

'I need to talk to you about something, cub.'

She nodded apprehensively and sat next to him.

'Which magic creatures do you know?'

She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding;

'Hm... Unicorns?' He nodded. 'Fairies, Vampires, Goblins, Imps... Why do you ask Uncle Remus?'

He sighed; there is no easy way to approach it. 'Do you know what a werewolf is?'

She nodded. 'They are real?'

'Yes, what do you know about them, cub?'

'That they are men or women that transform into a wolf on the full moon.' She said simply.

He sighed, it was now or never. 'What would you say if I said that I was a werewolf?' He held a breath.

'That it doesn't change who you are, because you are a good person and a bad thing doesn't make a good person bad.'

He smiled _'So innocent.' _'Werewolves are blood thirsty beats once a month. Men and women that are werewolves lose their minds for the wolf every full moon, people are killed. It doesn't have a cure, once bitten you are a werewolf forever.' He didn't know why, but he wanted to scare her, to make her understand that danger that she was in.

'That's what books say, Uncle Remus. You can find all the truths in a book, life changes many things.'

'Cub, I'm a werewolf.' He said exasperated.

'I know. I understood when you asked me about werewolves. That's why you're ill, that's why you call me cub. It doesn't matter Uncle Remus, it doesn't change who you are here-' she pointed to his heart. 'You are a good person that bad things happened to, that doesn't make you a bad person. That makes you a person even stronger 'cause despite every bad thing that happened to you, you are still able to love. ' and suddenly she sounded much older. His eyes filled with tears.

'Every full moon I drink a potion called Wolfsbane, it's a recent discovery and allows me to keep my mind when I'm the wolf. Professor Snape, the Potions Master of Hogwarts brews it for me as a favour to Professor Dumbledore.' He took a deep breath. 'Tomorrow is a full moon, I'll stay locked in the basement, I put all the wards around it. It should be impossible for me to leave as a wolf. I want you to promise me, Mary Mae that you won't try to see me, that you'll stay in your bedroom and if anything happens you will Floo to Hogwarts.'

'I promise, Uncle Remus.' With that she got up and hugged him tight and he hugged her back, they stood like that until Mary pulled apart and sat on his lap, resting her head in his chest. 'Uncle Remus?'

'Mm?'

'H-How old were you when you were bitten?'

'I was six; I couldn't understand what happened back then. My dad insulted a werewolf called Fenrir Greyback and for revenge he bit me.' Remus took a deep breath. 'My parents did everything they could to find a cure, but there was none. My dream of going to Hogwarts was destroyed. It was just when I was 11 that Albus Dumbledore came and talked to my parents; he said that there wasn't reasons for me don't become a student. To secure my safety as well as that of the other students I would be brought to the Shrieking Shack once a month for his transformations in order to prevent me from attacking other students. However, this isolation caused me to attack myself out of frustration. The villagers of Hogsmeade mistook my screams for that of violent ghosts. Dumbledore, wanting to keep the truth of these noises a secret, encouraged these rumours.' He sighed reliving the painful memories. 'Your father, James, and Peter discovered the truth about myself on our second year, every month I would make up stories to explain my disappearance, like my mom was ill and I needed to go home for the night but they weren't fooled. They didn't desert me, as I was afraid they would, they decided to learn how to become Animagi to keep me company during the full moons. You see, werewolves aren't dangerous to other animals. James was able to become a stag, and Sirius was able to become a dog, animals large enough to keep the wolf in check. Peter, meanwhile, was able to become a rat. Once a month during the full moon, James, Sirius, and Peter would sneak out of the castle under James's Invisibility Cloak, transform, get into the Whomping Willow, walk down the tunnel, and meet up with me in the Shrieking Shack. Under their influence, I became tame; my body was still a wolf's, but my mind became less so when I was with them. That's how the Marauders started, James was Prongs, Sirius was Padfoot, Peter was Wormtail and I was Moony, we thought we were invincible, they were my best friends as well as your mum and Lily, but I only told them my secret in our fifth year.'

Mary like Remus, had tears in her eyes. 'I'm sorry, Uncle Moony.' He laughed at the new nickname.

'Don't be cub, don't be.' He stroked her head and she was trying hard to keep her eyes open.

'Uncle Moony?'

'Yes?'

'Thank you today was the best birthday I've ever had.'

'You're welcome cub.'

'And Uncle Remus?'

'Yeah?'

'I'm sorry; it's because of me that you lost your last remaining friend.'

'Never say that again, Mary. It isn't your fault that your mum died, she gave her life willing to save your and I would do the same. You are not to blame, understand?'

'But-'

'No buts.'

She sighed and closed her eyes. She was asleep almost instantly and her last thought was: _'One day I will learn how to be an Animagi to keep company to Uncle Remus on the full moon.'_

**A/N: So... Tell me if you like it (: Review please! I pretend to skip a year next chapter. And just to let you know, I got a few quotes from the books and changed them.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does.**_

**Chapter 7: Sirius Black**

One year later

The past was not forgotten but they found a way to live with it. The abuse was still a memory and even if Mary didn't show it in her subconscious she was still afraid of her surroundings, for sure she had gotten better but sometimes you could see the pain behind her haunted grey eyes. She trusted her god father with her life and would give up of her life willing to see him happy. _'I'm just a freak, and he's the best person I've ever met.'_ She sometimes got herself thinking, and she could say that Uncle Moony wouldn't like to hear her thinking of herself as a freak but sometimes was still difficult to believe this wasn't just a dream.

She didn't change much, she was still too short for her age but her sickish appearance has improved. She was still thin, but not the sickish thin she used to be. She still had to drink her potion every day, though; almost 10 years of malnourishment were difficult to get through.

She didn't know how to feel, in one month she would be going to Hogwarts. She was excited, yes, but she was scared. _'What if I don't have friends? What if I can't do magic? What if I can't perform any spell?' _These were the moments you could see the old Mary, the insecure one. She was still scared around new people, she didn't have friends, and she would even refuse to leave the house without her god father! How would she survive without him an entire year in Scotland? She was extremely happy when her Hogwarts letter arrived, but was even happier when her god father told her the news.

_It was a normal day; Mary and Remus were having breakfast when a brown owl entered through the window carrying a letter with the Hogwarts crest._

_Mary looked at her god father with an unspoken question and a smile on her face._

'_Go ahead, cub!' He smiled. _

_She reached for the letter with shaking hands. She read out loud in a tremble voice:_

'_**Hogwarts School  
><strong>__**of**__** Witchcraft **__**and**__** Wizardry**_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore __  
>(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,<br>Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

__

_Dear Ms. Black,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
>Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.<em>

_Yours sincerely,  
><em>_Minerva McGonagall__  
><em>_Deputy Headmistress___

_**Hogwarts School  
><strong>__**of**__** Witchcraft **__**and**__** Wizardry**_

_**Uniform**__  
>First-year students will require:<br>sets of plain work robes (black)  
>plain pointed hat (black) for day wear<br>pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
>winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)<br>Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags_

_**Course Books**__  
>All students should have a copy of each of the following:<br>__ The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)__  
>by Miranda Goshawk<br>__ A History of Magic__  
>by Bathilda Bagshot<br>__ Magical Theory__  
>by Adalbert Waffling<br>__ A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration__  
>by Emeric Switch<br>__ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi__  
>by Phyllida Spore<br>__ Magical Drafts and Potions__  
>by Arsenius Jigger<br>__ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them__  
>by Newt Scamander<br>__ The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection__  
>by Quentin Trimble<em>

_**Other Equipment**__  
>1 wand<br>1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
>1 set glass or crystal phials<br>1 telescope  
>1 set brass scales<em>

_Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.  
>PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS'<em>

'_I have been accepted, Uncle Remus! I'm going to Hogwarts!' She jumped of the chair and started jumping with the letter in her hands. Remus laughed, he was reminded of himself when he was told that he could go to Hogwarts._

'_Of course you have, cub!'_

_After a minute she calmed down and looked at him. 'I will miss you, Uncle Remy. I-I don't want to go anymore.' She put her letter on the table and looked down. Remus kneeled down and raised her chin so he was looking in her eyes._

'_Why is that, Mary? What happened?'_

'_I will miss you.' She said quietly. 'I-I d-don't want to go away.'_

'_Oh cub, come here.' He opened his arms and embraced her. 'I'm here with you and I will never leave you. I didn't tell you before because I wanted to surprise you cub but you're not the only one who is going to Hogwarts this year.'_

'_I-I'm not?' She looked at him confused._

_He shook his head. 'I'm your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Remember when Dumbledore came here a few weeks ago?' She nodded. 'He came to ask me if I wanted the post, and I accepted.'_

_She threw her arms around her god father's neck; tears were falling from her eyes. 'Thank you, Uncle Moony.' She whispered._

'_No need to thank me cub, I was looking for a job and I love to teach, Dumbledore knows that.' He didn't need to tell her that she was a big part of his decision; he was kind of expecting that reaction. He held her in arms' length and looked in her eyes. 'But cub, we need to talk.' She nodded. 'You know that I'll be here when you need me but you need to learn that sometimes it won't be possible for me to be by your side every minute. Is okay to miss your family, especially in your first year after everything you've been through but you have to promise me something, baby.' She nodded. 'You have to promise me that you'll try to make friends with the others students, that you will have the time of your life and that if anything at all happens you will come to me but the most important is that you have to promise to trust me when I say I'll never leave you okay? Even when I'm with you, you just have to call me and I'll be there. I'll be at Hogwarts as your teacher but I'm still your god father and when you need me I'll be willing to hear what you have to say, got it?'_

'_Got it.' She smiled. 'B-but what if I don't end up in Gryffindor?'_

'_I'll be proud of you don't matter which house you're in, cub.' He pulled her in a tight embrace. 'Love you, cub.'_

'_Love you too, Uncle Moony. You'll be the favourite teacher of all students.' She smiled._

_He chuckled. 'I hope so, cub. I hope so.'_

Today, August 1st she was tuning 11 years old. She woke up with something walking on her.

'Urgh, go away Haze.' She whined.

'No, Haze won't go away until the birthday girl wakes up. He wants to wish you Happy Birthday.' Remus put a hand under her neck and the other one under her shoulders and pulled her into a sitting position.

'Okay, I'm up.' She rubbed her eyes.

'Good morning and Happy Birthday, birthday girl!' Remus smiled and sat in the bed beside her.

'Morning, Uncle Remy.' She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

'Hey, don't sleep.'

'I'm not sleeping.' She mumbled.

'Good, do you want to open your presents now?'

'You didn't have to get me anything, Uncle Remus.' She opened her eyes and looked down uncomfortably. It was in moments like that that Remus wanted to pay those muggles a visit on the full moon even more.

'I know I didn't have to, but I _wanted_ to. Is something very special.' He summoned the box that was on the desk and gave it to her. 'Open.'

She looked at him unsure and proceeded to open the box. Inside it there was an envelope, a book that looked like a diary and three boxes, a small, a medium and a big one. She looked at him for explanation.

'It was your mother's.' He smiled sadly and she engulfed him in a hug.

'Thanks Uncle Remy, you don't know how much this means to me.' There were tears streaming down her face.

'You're welcome, cub. Do you want to open now or later so the breakfast doesn't get cold?'

'L-let's eat, after breakfast I open everything slowly.' He nodded and got out of bed, with her following.

At the kitchen there were balloons, flowers, a banner with 'Happy 11th Birthday, Mary!' flashing in several colours written on it and a big homemade chocolate cake on the table. Just like last year. She smiled and looked at her godfather once more.

'Thanks, Uncle Remus. It's beautiful.' He smiled at her.

They sat down at the table and started to eat chocolate pancakes.

'Oh! I almost forgot your potion, I'll get it.'

'Uncle Remus, it's my birthday!' She pouted.

'Really? I didn't know that.' He joked and she pouted even more and mumbled something that sounded a lot like _'not funny'. _He chuckled and got up to go to his study, new potions arrived yesterday.

While he was in the study a barny owl arrived carrying The Daily Prophet, she gave the owl a knut that was on the table and opened the newspaper. She couldn't believe her eyes, on the front page was the picture of a man screaming with hands around him trying to prevent his escape, in the picture was written 'Azkaban Prison XY390' but it wasn't the insane face of the man or the cell behind him that bothered her it was the name of the wizard and the title of the article. **'SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AZBAKAN' **_'No, I must be dreaming.' _She shook her head and stared at the paper, it was still there.

'_Sirius Black, imprisoned in November 1__st__ 1981, escaped the Azkaban Prison last night. Black, convicted for betraying Lily and James Potter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and 12 muggles with one single curse, was the Dark Lord's second-in-command and is a danger to the wizarding community. 'We believe he is after The-Boy-Who-Lived. He was heard talking in his sleep that someone is in Hogwarts.' Said Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. 'We don't know how he escaped but we ask the wizarding community not to panic and any information about his location should be reported for the Ministry of Magic and it shall be remunerated.' _And it went on and on about the events on Halloween of 1981 but Mary couldn't read it her vision was blurry.

'_No, no, no. It is not possible; Uncle Remus wouldn't lie to me, not about something like that. He never did, he said daddy was dead!' _Her head was spinning; she put a hand on the table for support. _'Daddy would never do something like that; this isn't the Sirius Black that Uncle Remus told me stories about!'_

This moment Remus entered the kitchen to find his distressed god daughter crying with the newspaper in hands and immediately he ran to her side and kneeled down.

'Mary, what happened cub?' She just shook her head and gave him the paper, she saw his face turn white as sheet.

'Explain, Uncle Remus.' Her voice was broken and there weren't tears in her eyes anymore and that moment Remus knew that it was worse than if she was bawling her eyes off. 'Tell me it isn't true. Tell me I'm dreaming and you didn't betray my trust like that.' She looked at him in the eyes and Remus felt a shiver run down his spine, it was the look of someone who lost everything, it was the look she had in her eyes when she arrived here for the first time.

'I-I...' Remus didn't know how to explain it to her, how to tell her that he didn't mean to break her trust or to lie to her.

'Is it true?' She asked him in a small voice. He just nodded. 'Why did you lie to me Uncle Remus? Why did you tell me my dad died in the war?' Her voice was growing louder with each sentence. 'Why didn't you tell me that my dad was in Azkaban? And why did you, the only person I've ever trusted, betray me like that?' She was screaming now, tears were running fast and he could smell her pain and see her shaking. He went forward to hug her and calm her down before she had a panic attack but she pulled him away. 'Don't. Touch. Me.' she said in a low voice. 'How could you? Answer me!' She cried out.

'I-I don't know.' He said.

'You don't know?' She laughed coolly. 'Start explaining why you told me my father was dead.'

'I didn't want you to grow up with an image of your father as a mass murderer; I didn't want to destroy the hope you had of your father being a hero. You had already been through a lot a-'

'Exactly! I've been through a lot and I trusted you and you lied to me, lied about my family, about my dad!' She cried. 'Didn't you think I deserve to know the truth even if it would break me inside? So I could heal properly later instead of heal almost completely to be broken again? Did you really think you could keep the truth from me forever? Do you think my mom would have wanted that? D-Don't follow me, I want to be alone.' She bolted up the stairs to her bedroom and he heard the door slam shut.

Remus sat on the floor and cried like he had just a few times in his life, he completely lost his composure and buried his head in his hands, his god daughter's words echoing in his mind. How could he do that to her? She trusted him to make the pain go away and he made just to bring it back later and this time it was _his_ fault. Liv must be disappointed in him right now; she always told him that Sirius was innocent and she always told him to keep her daughter safe and make sure she was loved if she couldn't make it and now his god daughter was broken again, he had already failed her for her first nine years and he just failed her again. He didn't know how long he stayed there in the kitchen floor but somehow he could feel his best friend comforting hand on his shoulder telling him to go and make it right.

Mary slammed the door shut and threw herself in her bed; she buried her face in her pillow and cried like she hasn't in a long time. She felt a pain that she hasn't before, she felt betrayed, the only one she ever trusted betrayed her and now she had nothing. She cried for a long time, until she sat up and saw her mother's box in the end of her bed. She pulled in closed and took the envelope that had _Mary Mae _written on it in a beautiful calligraphy. With trembling hand she unfolded the letter and began to read.

'_Dear Mary,_

_If you're reading this letter is because I couldn't be here to celebrate your eleventh birthday but I know that your godfather is taking a good care of you._

_When I learned that I was pregnant, I was scared, it was just the end of the war and there were a lot of Death Eaters still at large and attacking people and your father has just gone to Azkaban. But you gave me hope of a better day and I knew that everything would be fine in the end. It was when it happened, I was attacked by your father's cousin Bellatrix, the healer told me that because of the Death Eaters attack it was very risky for both of us and there was a chance that one of us would die in the labour, I decided that moment that if any of us had to die it would be me. I want you to know that it was my choice and it's not your fault, I wanted you to have a happy life, that's why I'm not with you physically right know but know that the ones that love us never truly leave us. _

_I want you to know that you father, Sirius, is innocent. He told me a few days before Halloween that James and Lily switched secret keeper and it was now Peter, he is the traitor not Sirius. I tried to prove it but they wouldn't hear it and they refused to give Sirius a trial and sentenced an innocent man to Azkaban a month before our wedding. Peter __is__ alive, he is hiding somewhere. He blew up that street, not Sirius._

_Enjoy your time in Hogwarts Mary and make friendships that will last forever. There I, Sirius, Uncle Remus, Uncle James and Aunt Lily had the best time of our lives and we'll remember it forever. And don't be scared, which house you're sorted in we'll be proud._

_I ask you to be strong and to follow your heart, to do what you think is right and to forgive people for their mistakes. Please my daughter, believe in yourself and don't forget that you were - and are - very loved and that if your father knew about you he would love you too more than life itself, he was always saying that he wanted a baby girl. I trust your god father with your life and I ask you to trust him too he has your best interests in mind , but most of all I hope that you don't receive this letter, so that means that we're both alive._

_I love you with all my heart, sweetie._

_Mum'_

Mary then realized that she was sobbing, she realized that she was scared and that she needed someone to help her. _'Mummy, Daddy I need you. I don't know what to do.' _She held Paddy tight and sobbed. She missed her parents even if she didn't know them, she needed her god father despite everything, and she needed him to hold her and to tell her that everything will be fine. She realized that she didn't forgive him fully, but was ready to start trying, and that he never meant to hurt her and even if she didn't trust him like she did before she knew that her love hasn't changed a bit.

That moment she heard a knock and a soft voice. 'Mary? Are you okay? Can we talk?'

She got up, went to the door and opened it to find her god father with red eyes, he looked like he was crying and she realized that he was suffering too. She launched herself in his arms and after he got over the chock he hugged her and lifted her off the floor, her head buried in the crook of his neck. He felt tears falling down his eyes despite his efforts to keep them to himself and walked over to the bed, sitting down with her on his lap. They held on each other borrowing strength to get through it together, like the family they were. Words weren't needed to make them understand that it was okay now.

After a while they both stopped crying but they didn't move, they hadn't a reason to. Remus then pulled her away to look her in the eyes, and said. 'I'm sorry.'

She nodded and said. 'I forgive you, Uncle Moony. I know you did what you thought was the best.'

'I didn't have the right to hide that from you, you would soon discover it another way. But when you love someone like I love you, you want to protect them from everything that can make their world shatter and now it happened and it's my entire fault.' Tears fell down his eyes and she wiped them with her thumb.

'It wasn't your fault Uncle Remus; you didn't mean to hurt me. And I love you too.' She buried her face in his chest and he rested his head on the top of her head.

After a moment she pulled away and got out of his lap to get her mum's letter and gave it to him. She saw as his eyes filled with tears but he blinked them away, when he finished he looked at her. 'Liv always knew what to say in the right time.' She nodded.

'It's like she is watching us right now and wrote this letter knowing what we needed to hear.' Mary said quietly.

'She's looking out for you right now, cub.' Mary nodded and after a moment she said.

'Did you know that daddy wasn't given a trial, Uncle Remus?' He nodded. 'He is innocent, I know it. You have to believe me, Uncle Remy.' She sounded desperate.

'Mary-'

'No, Uncle Remus! The Sirius Black you told me about would never do that, you said he was loyal and would give everything to save his loved ones. You told me he went to Uncle James' house when he was 16 and lived there, why would he kill his family?' She took a deep breath for the words sink in. 'But Peter didn't have any reason not to. You told me he was always sneaking around and always worshipping Uncle James and daddy and that he needed protection, what if he got tired of worshipping you and went to the 'big bully' for protection? If daddy was like that he wouldn't have left and fought his family to be with you. Did he ever give any reason to doubt his friendship?'

'_Yes'_ Remus thought. _'The incident in the Shrieking Shack in sixth year. But then, Sirius was miserable after that and tried to drown himself in the lake. He was truly sorry for that and he was never a good liar.'_

'What about Peter's body? All they found was his finger!'

'Mummy said he is hiding, he must have cut his own finger and then ran away.' She took a deep breath. 'You know daddy is innocent inside of you, Uncle Remus. Please follow your heart.' She sighed. 'Please, say something.' She pleaded.

'B-but why didn't they told me that they switched?' He asked quietly.

'For the same reason you believed that dad betrayed them. You were in the middle of a war and you knew one of you was spying for Voldemort who would you think was the traitor? The smart and powerful werewolf or poor Peter who needed help in everything?'

'You're right.' Remus said in a hurt tone. 'It would be the perfect bluff, think Sirius was the secret keeper so Peter would be safe and so would be their secret.'

Mary nodded and hugged him. 'We have to prove him innocent Uncle Remus; we have to find him before the Aurors do.'

'I know, cub.' He kissed the top of her head. 'But now open this, will you? And then we can have brunch.' And that moment, haze jumped on the bed and sat on Mary's lap. They would get through it together, because that's what families do.

**A/N: Hey guys, I hope you like this chapter I cried while I was writing it. Review please, all your reviews make my day/week/month/year (: And again, thank you for all your reviews, fav. stories and alerts I really appreciate it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter!**

**Chapter 8- Harry**

'Uncle Remus, mummy left me money to buy my school supplies. Let me use it, please!' Mary asked for the seventh time since they arrived at Diagon Alley that sunny day (or as sunny as could be in London).

'Nonsense, Mary. I already told you that you won't use your money until you graduate or in case of emergency.'

'But-'

'Look-' He knelt down in front of her. 'Don't worry about it, okay? Your mum left me some money as well, I have enough.' She nodded uncertainly and he kissed her forehead. 'Good. Let's go.' They entered Gringotts The Wizard Bank.

When they left Gringotts, Mary looked around trying to ignore her dad's face in millions of posters. 'Hey cub, you alright?

'Yeah.' She fixed her look in one picture of WANTED in a wall next to them and sighed.

'We will help him, cub, we know the truth. I'm sure Padfoot would be happy to know that we don't think him guilty.' She nodded and tried to smile.

'Where do you want to go first, little Mary?'

'Dunno' she looked down. 'You choose.'

'_Mary_' He scolded. 'I thought we had already gotten through this.'

'Sorry Uncle Remus.' Still looking at her feet.

'That's okay.' He put a finger under her chin and lifted it. 'So, where do you want to go?'

'Hm...' She looked at her list. 'Books?'

'So books it is!'

When they entered Flourish and Blotts, Mary stood still looking and the numerous bookshelves in awe. Remus pushed her slightly. 'Go ahead, cub. I'll be waiting for you near the cashier counter (?).' She looked at him and he smiled, nodding. She ran to the bookshelf to gather her books. _'So like her mother.' _He thought. He looked through the bookshelves for defence books; he would need them and then walked towards the cashier. Remus was already looking a little sick; the full moon was in a few days and September 1st the day after it. He stood there with his books and a few minutes later a flushed Mary came with all her books in her arms barely standing the weight. 'Here. Let me help you.' He chuckled taking the books from her. _'They probably weight more than her.'_

They paid and went to the others stores to buy the rest school supplies; the last one was the wand.

They entered Olivander's dusty store to find it empty.

'Hello?' Remus said.

Mary started to look around at the shelves filled with thin boxes.

'Miss Black, it is good to see you.' Olivander said with a twinkle in his eyes that rivalled Dumbledore's. He was an old man with white hair and blue eyes, there was something in him that was different though, there was something creepy in his appearance and Mary didn't know what it was. She took a step back and felt Remus's hand on her shoulder.

'H-Hello sir.' She said quietly.

'Remus Lupin, Vine and Unicorn hair, 14 inches. Slightly flexible, good for defence and protection as well as charms. ' Remus nodded and showed his wand. Mary looked impressed. 'Well, please come over here Miss Black, are you right or left handed?'

'I-I use both, s-sir. B-but I f-favour my right o-one.' Remus squeezed her shoulder lightly and smiled at her.

'Indeed. Please, extend your right arm.' He flicked his wand and a tape measure started came forward and measured Mary's arm in every way you thought possible. When it finished its job, it went back to the cabinet. The wand maker went to the shelf next to him and came back with a box. 'Try this one Miss Black. Dragon Heartstring, Oak, 13 inches. The same core as your father's and the wood is the same of your mother's.' Mary unsure of what to do accepted the wand and before she could do anything, Mr. Olivander snatched it back. 'No, no, no.' He started to rummage through the shelves and came back with some boxes. She kept trying and none of the wands reacted, she wasn't even sure of what to expect. 'Difficult costumer, don't worry.' And he went back to the shelves.

'Uncle Remus, let's go. I told you there must be a mistake, I'm not a witch!' She toldhim quietly so only him could hear her, her eyes filled with tears. He noticed that she was nervous and bent down in front of her.

'It happen cub; your dad told me he spent hours here trying to find a wand that suited him. You're both special.' He smiled and kissed the top of her head, standing full height again.

'Here, Miss Black. Try this one. Holly, Unicorn Hair, 11 inches. Flexible, good for charms and transfiguration as well as protection.' Mary took her wand and felt the warmth spread through her arm and body. It was that wand that was meant for her. She smiled and looked at her godfather and after, at the wand maker.

'It's this one.' She thought out loud. It wasn't a question.

'Indeed it is. Can you feel the magic?' Mary looked up startled and nodded.

Remus put a hand on her shoulder and whispered. 'See? I told you.' She smiled.

They paid and went to Magical Menagerie to buy some food and toys for Haze. After that they went to The Leaky Cauldron to eat lunch. They sat on a table on the corner, in front of the staircase. They ordered and after the food arrived, started talking.

'Are you excited? You're going to Hogwarts in a few days!'

'Yeah! I can't wait to learn how to do magic.' She smiled.

'I'm sure you'll love it, cub. I've spent the best moments of my life there and I'm sure you'll spend yours as well.'

She nodded. 'What were my parent's best subjects Uncle Moony?' Remus thought for a moment.

'Your dad's definitely Transfiguration, he became an Animagus at 15 after all. Your mum was the top student in Herbology; she was pretty good in Potions and Defence as well.'

Mary nodded. 'And Quidditch? What about the games?'

He chuckled; one of the traits other than looks that Mary inherited from Sirius was the passion for Quidditch. She tried to get Remus to teach her how to fly but he wouldn't have any of it. _"What if my sweet little cub fall and break her neck?"_ And variations of it were his thoughts on this particular subject. In personality Mary was every day more like her mother: quiet, kind and with love for books but in looks she was Sirius' carbon copy, only a female version. She had the aristocratic Black looks, long eyelashes framing bright grey eyes (in which you could easily read her soul) and the famous Black grin. It was impossible to look at her without remembering Sirius and this is what was worrying Remus the most.

Everybody thought Sirius was a mad mass-murderer and only him, Mary and Sirius knew the truth. He knew that people would be wary of Mary at Hogwarts and it would only make everything more difficult for her. She wasn't the type of person who adapted easily and with her past, crowded places weren't her first choice. Remus knew he would be at Hogwarts but he also knew that he couldn't stay with her all the time and that this year should be the most ordinary that it could, with him being there. And that was: Mary should stay in her dorm room, spend her free time in her house's Common Room and eat in her house's table at the Great Hall. Of course these rules didn't need to be followed all the time, Professor Dumbledore tactfully added another bedroom to Remus' quarters in case Mary wanted to spend the night.

That was the topic of many of their conversations. Remus told Mary that even if he believed that Sirius is innocent there wasn't any _proof_, therefore they shouldn't be talking about that specific subject in public and also, don't tell anyone about Sirius' innocence until they found him or anything that could prove it. He told her that it didn't explain why he would be going to Hogwarts if he wasn't after Harry and mentally added it to the list of questions to ask Sirius when they met but somehow he'd always known that Sirius would never betray Lily and James he just needed someone to say it to him, someone innocent that wouldn't lie about someone that was a strange, someone like his god daughter. He knew that if would make everything more difficult for Mary, if she couldn't tell anyone about her dad's innocence how many people would come willing to talk to a murderer's daughter? Her answer was that she didn't care but Remus could see that she wanted to have friends for the first time in her life.

His thoughts were interrupted when a tiny little boy walked down the stairs. The boy had jet black hair and looked like a carbon copy of James, only smaller, thinner and with green eyes. Remus let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. The he was, the boy he hadn't seen for 12 years, the little bouncy baby he used to babysit and used to call him _'Uncwe Moo'ey'. _Their eyes locked for a moment and what Remus' saw was something that made his heart clench, there wasn't a look that a 13 year old boy should have, it was a look of someone who's seen too much and wanted all the pain to go away, that haunted look reminded him of that day when he went to that orphanage to recue Mary. It was the same look she had in her eyes. Harry quickly looked away and wrapped his arms around his body. He was dressed in baggy grey clothes that were 4 times bigger than him; he had a sickish appearance and was limping slightly. Remus just wanted to hold the boy in his arms and ask him what happened and tell that everything would be alright. But he couldn't, Harry didn't remember him and if he was right, wouldn't take some stranger trying to embrace him lightly. Before he could say anything, Harry was gone.

'_Uncle Remus?_ Uncle Moonyyy!' Mary seemed to be trying to get his attention for a long time.

'Sorry, cub. What did you say?' He kept looking at the entrance for Diagon Alley, as if Harry would come back any moment. A lot of questions inside his head._ 'What is Harry doing at the Leaky Cauldron?', 'Is he alone?' _and the most important of all _'Why did he look so _miserable_?'_

'I-I asked if you are alright. You look like you've seen a ghost or something.' She looked at him concerned.

'I'm fine, cub.' He managed to smile. 'I'll be right back, ok?' She nodded uncertainly and he went towards Tom, the barman. Remus and the Marauders used to come here after graduation for a drink, so they knew Tom quite well given the circumstances.

He cleared his throat. 'Tom?'

'Remus!' Tom smiled toothless. 'D'ya need anything else?'

'I wanted to ask you something if there's no problem.'

'Go ahead.'

Remus cleared his throat one more time. 'I was err... wondering if that small boy was Harry, Harry Potter?'

'Indeed it was. Came here last week, the poor boy. It was late in the night, came in the Knight Bus. Looked terrible.'

'How terrible, Tom?'

'Bloodied and shaking. 'e asked for a room and here he is since. Poor boy, with Sirius Black roaming 'round. I can't believe that young Sirius would betray the Potters, he and James were like brothers!' Tom shook his head.

'_Bloodied and shaking?'_ Remus thought. _'Why the bloody hell was Harry bloodied and shaking?'_

'Is he alone, Tom?'

The barman nodded and looked full of himself about knowing something about The Boy Who Lived that no one knows.

'Thank you, Tom.' Remus paid and went towards the table where Mary was seating.

'Are you _sure _you're okay, Uncle Remus? You look pale.'

'Yes, cub. What about some Ice Cream?' She nodded and they entered Diagon Alley for the second time that day,

They sat at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and ordered their usual flavours. Remus looked around and spotted Harry seating in a table not too far from theirs eating a Sundae and reading a book. This was a bizarre scene because James would never be seen reading if he could help it and without showing the green eyes, Harry was just like him. Remus took a proper look at the boy's clothes, if you could call it that. Harry was wearing a long sleeved shirt with holes in it and baggy jeans that were held in place by a belt or something like it. He couldn't stop wondering what happened to this boy.

Mary looked at the boy that her godfather was staring and felt something. The boy looked just like Uncle James looked in the pictures. But it couldn't be him, he was dead, _'so it has to be Harry!' _she thought. Harry squirmed in his seat and looked at her, their eyes met and Mary knew what he was feeling and what he went through- she didn't know how. But she went through the same.

When they arrived at the cottage, Remus sent Mary to her bedroom to start packing promising he would help her and headed to the fireplace.

'Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office.' He said and tossed floo power. He put his head on the fire. 'Headmaster?'

'Remus my boy! What a pleasant surprise. Why do I own your call?'

'See headmaster, I went to Diagon Alley today.' Albus nodded. 'And what I saw disturbed me.' Dumbledore nodded again and Remus kept talking. 'Why is Harry so miserable, Albus? I saw him today and he looked like he was dead on his feet, he looked haunted, scared and too small for his age. What the _hell_ is happening at his Aunt and Uncle's house?'

Albus could hear the anger in Remus voice that was increased by the proximity of the full moon. It was almost impossible for Remus to lose control of his temper.

'I assure you that Harry is safe, Remus. Lily's protection is still working and I'm sure nothing will harm the boy.'

'You're not understanding me, _headmaster_.' Remus spat. 'The boy is already harmed; he looked like he was broken! He looked like Mary when I went to the orphanage to get her! You told me I couldn't have him, you promised you would keep him safe. But now what, huh? What good does it do if he's miserable there?'

'Remus, I assure you that Petunia and Vernon Dursley are giving Harry everything he needs. I made sure of it, besides Arabella lives there. She would've told me if something _unusual _was happening.'

'Albus. I talked to Tom at The Leaky Cauldron today and he told me that Harry arrived there _bloodied_ and _shaking_! Why would he be at The Leaky Cauldron alone anyway? Especially bloodied! You know how thin and small he is headmaster, you've seen him. What if his relatives are abusing him? What on earth happened to that bouncy baby we once knew?'

'Harry blew up his Uncle's sister, that's why he was there. The Weasley's were in Egypt so he couldn't go to The Burrow. And the bloodied part, I'm sure there is an explanation for it. Harry must have exploded things when he blew up his "Aunt". No one who wishes to harm Harry can enter that house, Remus.'

Remus sighed, calming down. 'I _really_ hope so, headmaster. Because if something happens to _my cub_ I'll pay those muggles a visit on the full moon.'

He bid Albus goodbye and left the fireplace.

Albus couldn't help but think '_What if what's harming Harry is inside the house? No, they wouldn't hurt a child, especially their own nephew. I explained everything in that letter.'_ How he wished it was one of the times he was right.

Days passed and tomorrow they would be going to King's Cross Station to board on the Hogwarts Express. But before it, Remus had to get through another full moon and so did Mary.

Her god father didn't know that but she barely slept on full moon nights, since her first one with Remus she spend the entire night wishing she could help him and wishing the sun would rise soon so his suffering would end for a few weeks; only to start again the next month. She couldn't bear the thought of her god father locked in the basement, just like they used to do with her in the orphanage. She wanted to go downstairs and stay with the wolf for the night, to make sure he wasn't alone and give him some comfort that she wished so much when she was in his place but was scared, not of the wolf but of disappointing her god father breaking the most important rule. She didn't want to admit it but she was scared that if she went, he would send her away or worse: realise she was too much trouble and hit her himself. She always stopped herself of thinking about it, he would never hit her. But her past still haunted her and a nagging voice wouldn't leave her alone with the two words she hated the most: _what if_. What if he changed his mind?

And there was the fact that she searched about the transformations and knew about the pain of the werewolf's bones taking form, it didn't help her creative imagination that refused to let go of images of her god father shaking and contorting on the floor and a big beast on his place.

There was also the fact that she knew that Remus would never forgive himself if he bit her. Even with the Wolfsbane potion he didn't think it was safe, and the potion was the only thing that made him able to adopt her. He explained to her that werewolves weren't allowed to take care of children. Only because of Dumbledore and the potion they made this exception as well as the promise that Mary or any child would be near him in the full moon. And Mary wasn't about to risk the only home she's ever had for something that could go so wrong. She had to make it safe before going there, and she knew the way. She promised herself that she would live in Hogwarts' library if she had to, to make it happen. 

She took her diary out of the draw and started to write:

_August 31, 1993._

_Dear diary,_

_Tonight is a full moon and tomorrow I'm going to Hogwarts. I can't help but be scared. What if anyone likes me? They still think daddy is a murderer. I haven't had any friends before, why would I have now with this fact to add on the "reasons to don't befriend with __the freak__ Mary" list. And why if I am not in Gryffindor? I know Uncle Moony said it didn't matter but I know he wants me to be in Gryffindor like mummy, daddy, him, Uncle James and Auntie Lily. I think Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, but again I'm not smart. Slytherin is out of question, I'm not cunning. Hufflepuff I don't have any friends to be loyal to and I'm not patient. Gryffindor... I'm not brave! I'll stay there and then they will tell me that there isn't a house for me and send me back. And then Uncle Remus will be so disappointed that he'll send me away. I just want to find a place where I __fit in__.  
>I gotta go; Uncle Remus is coming to say goodnight.<em>

_Love,  
>MMB<em>

when she finished writing she put her diary under her pillow and a second later there was a knock on her door and her god father put his head in. 

'Hey Uncle Remus.' 

'Hi, cub.' he came in and sat on her bed beside her. 'All packed?' She nodded. 'Good. Are you excited?' She nodded. 'Nervous?' She nodded again and he sighed. 'It's normal to be nervous on your first year.' He brushed her fringe out of her eyes. 'Come on, lay down so I can tuck you in and tomorrow with come sooner.' He helped her and then tucked the blanket tightly around her. 'Goodnight, cub. I love you.' 

'I love you too Uncle Remus, everything will go fine.' She told him about his transformation. 

'It will. And remember, don't come anywhere near the basement tonight.' 

'I know.' 

'Good. Sleep tight.' he kissed her head and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.  
>Mary closed her eyes trying to fall asleep even if she knew that sleep wouldn't come. She began to create images on her head to distract her of full moon thoughts, but the only think she could think of was that this was the last night here, the place where she knew what to expect and how to behave and that tomorrow she would be going to a place that she longed and feared to go. A place where anything could happen, just like magic.<p>

**A/N: Wotcher! Thank you so much for your reviews, I really appreciate it even if I haven't got much, the reviews I got are very special for me. I have a question about next chapter:**

**DO YOU WANT HARRY AND REMUS TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER BESIDES THE PROFESSORxSTUDENT RELATIONSHIP?**

**Please answer! I will need it for the next chapter.**

**Also, I'm posting a new story. Is about the Potter Twins (I know that there are several stories like that but I never found one that I liked. I've never even read a Potter Twins story, so I'm writing with my thoughts of how would it be.**

**Thank you again and I hope you liked this chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: HARRY POTTER IS STILL NOT MINE.**

**AU**

***this chapter contains Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban spoilers.**

**Chapter 9: Dementors and Hogwarts**

The next morning Mary woke up at the crack of dawn after a few hours of sleep, she started to pace around her bedroom checking everything, she took her transfiguration text book and started to memorize everything. Her dad was the best in transfiguration and she wanted to be like him. Half an hour later she heard footsteps on the stairs and her door opened. Her god father was probably coming back to his bedroom for a few hours of sleep and decided to check on her.

'Hey cub, what are you doing up?' He said sitting on the edge of the bed.

She ignored his question and jumped out of bed. 'How are you feeling Uncle Moony? Do you want anything? Maybe some tea or coffee... Do you want breakfast? I can make it for y-'

'MARY!' She looked at him wide eyed. 'Sorry cub, but you wouldn't hear me.' She nodded still scared. 'I'm fine really.' She looked at him sceptically. 'Come here.' He patted the place beside him in the bed. She sat beside him carefully. He sighed. 'I won't hurt you cub, I never will.' She nodded.

'Sorry' she said quietly suddenly finding her pyjamas interesting. Remus put a finger under her chin and raised it gently to make her look at him.

'That's okay, I shouldn't have shouted. What are you doing up, cub? It's too early in the morning. Have you been up all night again?'

She looked at him open mouthed like a fish. The only thing she could as was 'How?'

'Did you honestly think I never noticed how you look almost as exhausted as I am after the full moon?'

She looked down to hide her pink cheeks. 'Sorry.'

'Stop apologizing, cub. Just try to get some sleep next time okay? I am alright, don't worry. The potion makes me able to keep my human mind, remember?' She nodded. 'What is it you were reading?' She showed him her forgotten book. 'Cub, this must be your third time reading this book. Are you trying to know every paragraph by heart or something? Don't be too hard on yourself, Mary; you'll go crazy by the end of the year if you do.'

'It's just that-' she hesitated and her god father put a hand around her shoulder. 'That daddy was so good in transfiguration and I want to do something that would make people proud of me.'

'Oh Mary. You already make us so proud, I am proud of the girl you turned out to be and I am sure that you mum and dad are too. You don't have to be them, cub. Be yourself because that way you already make the proudest god father in the whole world.' He smiled tiredly at her. She smiled back at him and closed her book. 'And know that whichever house you are sorted in I'll be proud of you. Every house has its qualities.'

'I wanted to be in Gryffindor like you, mummy, daddy, Uncle James and Auntie Lily.'

'Then maybe you can ask the sorting hat to put you there, but not because we were there cub, because you want to.' She nodded.

'What about some breakfast mm? We will sleep on the train later; we need to check everything again before we go.'

'I will make breakfast.' She said stubbornly.

He sighed. 'Mary, you know I don't like you near the stove.'

'Please, Uncle Remus. I'm doing it since I was 5, I know how it works.' She told him without thinking and then got up from the bed and backed away. 'S-Sorry.'

He shook his head. 'You never told me that. How were you able to cook when you were five if now you're a little taller than it?' He looked at her seriously.

She mumbled something that sounded like 'chair' and Remus decided to talk to her about it later, it was almost nine and they had to go.

'Let's go.'

In the kitchen Mary insisted to help and that she liked cooking, which she really did. It was the only chore she liked at the orphanage.

After breakfast and that 'disgusting thingy' as Mary liked to call her new potion from when they went again to the healer, they checked everything again. Mary picked a few book and put them on the top of her things before closing her trunk, that way it would be easier to get them if she wanted to read. It was a quarter past tem when they apparated to an alley near King's Cross Station with her trunks and Haze hated it was much as Mary, she couldn't decide which was worse: floo or apparating. She followed her god father and he stopped between platforms nine and ten.

'Where's platform nine and three-quarters?' She asked him looking around.

'You have to walk straight to that wall; it's a passage way for the platform.'

'Okay...' She said doubtfully.

'Let's go together. Don't worry, I was nervous on my first time too but you won't run into the wall. Trust me cub.' She nodded. 'Together?'

'Please.'

They ran towards the wall and Mary closed her eyes waiting for the moment she would crash but it never came.

'Welcome to the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, cub.' Remus smiled as Mary looked at the red engine with wonder. The Hogwarts Express. There were a few people in the Platform; most of them would arrive later.

'Let's get a compartment, when more people arrive you can sit with new first years if you'd like.' She shook her head and he held a sigh. They walked towards the train and chose an empty compartment in the end. They settled down in the corner, Mary leaning into her god father with her Kneazle on her lap. She took her Hogwarts a History from her trunk and started to reread it for the fourth time.

Remus chuckled. 'Merlin cub! Hogwarts a History _again_?'

She rolled her eyes and smiled. 'Yeah Uncle Moony but now is _different_ because I'm going to Hogwarts, I have to remember the details!'

He chuckled again. 'I'm sure you know every sentence by heart by now, Mary.' He yawned. 'I'll sleep a little, okay cub? Why don't you go find another compartment? Maybe you could meet another first year.'

She shook her head. 'D-do you mind if I stay here?'

'No, cub, I don't.' He sighed and kissed the top of her head. He leaned into the window and closed his eyes as his god daughter leaned on his with her book open. Soon both of them were asleep.

Mary woke up at the sound of a whistle; she looked around and saw a black haired boy with green eyes using glasses-this one she recognized as Harry- a red headed boy with freckles on his face and a brown -bushy haired girl. Neither of them had notice she was up.

'It's coming from your trunk, Harry,' the ginger boy said, standing up and reaching into the luggage rack. A moment later he had pulled the noisy thing out from between Harry's robes. It was spinning very fast in the palm of his hand and glowing brilliantly.

'Is that a Sneakoscope?' said the girl interestedly, standing up for a better look.

'Yeah... mind you, it's a very cheap one,' the ginger boy said. 'It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry.'

'Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?' said the bushy girl shrewdly.

'No! Well... I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys... but how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?'

'Stick it back in the trunk,' Harry advised as the Sneakoscope whistled piercingly again, 'or it'll wake them up.'

At this moment the three of them looked towards Mary.

'Err... sorry we woke you up.' The girl side smiling embarrassingly Mary shook her head to show that it didn't mind. 'I'm Hermione Granger and these are Ron Weasley-' she pointed at the red headed one. '-and Harry Potter. You are...'

'M-Mary.' Mary said quietly sinking down even more on the bench.

'Don't you have a last name?' That Ron boy asked hastily.

'RON! Stop being a git!' She slapped him on the head. 'Is it your first year, Mary?' Mary nodded. 'Great! I was so excited on my first year, I'm a muggle-born you know and when my letter came I was so happy to find a logical explanation for all the strange things I did. I hope to see you in Gryffindor.' Mary swore that girl could speak faster than anyone she's ever heard of. Mary looked at her smiling slightly and said quietly.

'I hope to be a Gryffindor.' But her mumble was blocked from the ginger boy's cry of 'Breathe Hermione! You're scaring the poor girl.' They started to bicker and Mary turned her gaze to Harry who was looking locked in his thoughts as he stared at her god father. _'Maybe Harry remembers Uncle Moony!'_

When they started to talk about Hogsmeade, Mary turned back to her book. She had to hold a laugh when that girl... what is it... Hermione told the boys that the Shrieking Shack was haunted.

Suddenly three boys entered the compartment. One was taller, with a pudding-bowl haircut and a very thick neck; the other one had short, bristly hair and long, gorilla-ish arms; the smaller one had whitish-blond hair and a thin face. He looked like he had just swallowed a lemon and reminded Mary of a white ferret while his bodyguards of two fat troll-ish gorillas.

'Well, look who it is,' said the white ferret in a lazy drawl 'Potty and the Weasel.' The gorillas chuckled. 'I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold Weasley,' said Malfoy. 'Did your mother die of shock?'

Ron stood up so quickly he knocked Hermione's kneazle basket to the floor. Remus gave a snort. The blond boy saw Mary and was about to say something about her when he saw her god father. 'Who's that?' he said, taking an automatic step backward as he spotted Remus.

'New teacher,' said Harry, who got to his feet, too, in case he needed to hold Ron back. 'What were you saying, Malfoy?'

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose.

'C'mon,' he muttered resentfully to his pets, and the circus disappeared.

Harry and Ron sat down again, Ron massaging his knuckles.

'I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year,' he said angrily. 'I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and -'

Ron made a violent gesture in midair.

'Ron!' Hermione admonished.

'Sorry about Malfoy, he is the Slytherin Prince and is a git.' Harry told Mary and she nodded, looking back at him. His eyes were still haunted but she could see a mask covering it, one who didn't know what to look for would never notice. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt and was sitting a little far from his friends, he was tense.

The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering gray, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks.

The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Remus slept.

Mary stood up to look at the completely black window and trying to look outside. Why was it so cold suddenly? The train started to slow down. Mary passed carefully through her god father but the train slowed down even more and she almost fell down when Harry grabbed her arm and she tensed. They looked at each other's eyes and something connected.

'Thanks.' Mary said quietly and went back to her seat.

'Great, I'm starving. I want to get to the feast...' said Ron oblivious to everything.

'We can't be there yet,' said Hermione, checking her watch.

'So why are we stopping?'

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

Harry got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments. The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness. Mary leaned again into her god father.

''What's going on?' said Ron's voice from behind Harry.

'Ouch!' gasped Hermione. 'Ron that was my foot!'

Harry felt his way back to his seat.

'D'you think we've broken down?'

'Dunno...'

There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

'There's something moving out there,' Ron said. 'I think people are coming aboard...'

'Strange... There isn't any station here.' they heard Hermione's voice.

'Uncle Remus?' Mary shook him quietly and he opened his eyes. 'What happened cub?' He looked around and asked all of them. 'What happened here?'

None of them spoke.

There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. Remus appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

'Stay where you are,' he said in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him, Mary held his other hand to ask him to stay but the door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in her god father's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Mary looked downward, and what she saw made her tremble. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, greyish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water...

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. Mary knew what it was, her god father told her- after she insisted a lot- about Azkaban and she recognized the black thing as a Dementor.

An intense cold swept over them all. Mary couldn't breathe. The cold went deeper than her skin, like all her limbs were freezing. It was inside her chest, it was inside her heart and mind...

She started to hyperventilate and tremble, she couldn't see anything. It was only her and that depressing cold.

And then she heard the voice of the person that made her life a living hell.

'FREAK! WASTE OF SPACE! WORTHLESS! I'LL BEAT THE FREAKISHNESS OUT OF YOU, EVEN IF I HAVE TO KILL YOU. NO ONE WILL MISS YOU, NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU.' And then it all went black.

'Mary, Mary. C'mon baby, open your eyes. C'mon little Mary.' Someone was shaking her and when she opened her eyes she saw her god father looking at her concerned. 'Are you all right?'

Mary nodded. 'W-was i-it a Dementor?' Mary trembled as Remus nodded and wiped her tears and then pulled her into his arms. Remus knew he couldn't show this relationship with Mary a lot while he was her teacher but at this moment he didn't care, his cub was scared and trembling. She needed him.

'I'm here Mary, you're okay. You won't come back there, that is past, he won't touch you ever again.' After she calmed down, Remus laid her down on her seat and gave her a chocolate frog. 'Eat little Mary, it really helps.' She nodded and ate the chocolate, feeling warmth spread through her body.

Remus then went over to Harry, who was leaning on the window with his eyes closed. Remus knelt down so that they were on the same level.

'Harry?' Harry opened his green eyes that were looking more haunted and duller than ever. 'How are you feeling?'

'Fine.' Harry answered almost instantly but his voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears again.

'Could you two send a letter to Hogwarts informing what happened?' Remus asked Ron and Hermione, who were looking at Harry. They hesitated but after Remus reassured them they left their compartment.

Remus looked at Harry –who was trying to stop his tears from falling and failing miserably- and put a hand under his chin, raising it. Harry blushed and tried to look down but Remus was holding his chin firmly.

'There's nothing wrong with crying Harry, it's worse if you let yourself bottled up and cry on the inside without anyone to help you. Your mum told me this herself.'

'Y-you knew my p-parents?'

'Yes, I did. I went with them to Hogwarts. I was one of your dad's best mates.'

Remus then saw a shade of a smile on Harry's face.

'I can tell you about him if you want but first eat this-' Remus gave Harry a chocolate frog and Harry looked at Remus confused. '-it really helps make you feel better.' Harry nodded and ate.

Remus sat back on his bench next to Mary who was now seated and staring at Remus and Harry with a small smile. Remus then started to tell Harry stories about how his dad would ask Lily to go out with him and how she let him down every time until seventh year.

Ron and Hermione came back and smiled when they saw their friend looking much better, they shot a grateful smile towards the Professor and Remus winked at them.

They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and toads croaked loudly. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

'Firs' years this way!' called Hagrid, the keeper of keys of Hogwarts. Remus told Mary about him and his obsession with dangerous animals.

Mary looked at her god father and he said quietly. 'Go ahead and good luck, cub. After the Sorting we are going to the Hospital Wing, I want Madam Pomfrey to check on both you and Harry.' He kissed her forehead and she went after Hagrid and got on a boat with two girls and a boy. The journey to the Castle was uneventful, Mary took her time looking around trying to get a glimpse of everything and got distracted imagining how this would be like during the day. She almost stayed in her boat went everyone went towards the oak doors.

Hagrid looked around to make sure everyone was there and raised his giant fist to knock on the oak door.

The door opened and a stern looking woman dressed in dark red robes stood there waiting for them.

'Prof'ssor McGonagall.' Hagrid nodded.

'Thank you Hagrid. I'll take care of the rest.'

They followed her to a large room, the entrance hall was lit with torches, the ceiling was so high you could barely see it and there was a big and beautiful staircase. From there, Professor McGonagall led them to a small chamber next to the hall not nearly as magnificent as the other room, in fact, this one was empty.

The first years looked around nervous, trying to figure out what would happen now. Mary's hands were shaking, she felt like she could jump of happiness she was at Hogwarts!

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' said Professor McGonagall as she knew it by heart which she probably did having to say the same thing every year. 'The start-of-term feast will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

'The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours and show respect to all the houses. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes at the Great Hall where the other students are waiting. I'll be back in a few minutes.'

Mary heard people trying to guess how they would be sorted, a boy was saying that they would lock you up in a cage with a lion, a snake, an eagle and a badger and the animal would choose you. Mary rolled her eyes, this sounded a bit complicated. She tried to stop her shaking hands and smarted her robes. She took a deep breath but the gasped when ghosts came floating above them to say hello. Several people screamed but Mary stood there in shock.

'Hello.' Bowed a ghost wearing a ruff and tights. 'I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. The ghost of Gryffindor House. I welcome all of you to our school and hope to see you in Gryffindor.'

A plumpy little man that looked like a pumpkin waved and smiled.

Soon Professor McGonagall came back for them. 'Form a line and follow me.'

As fast as she could with her shaking legs, Mary got in the line after a blond boy. They went through the Entrance Hall and stopped for a moment in front of a pair of double doors. Mary took a deep breath as the doors opened.

Mary has never seen anything so magnificent. Everywhere you looked there was magic. If she hadn't read Hogwarts a History she would say that the Great Hall didn't have ceiling at all. Thousands of candles were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. What that shabby hat was doing there? Surprisingly the hat opened its mouth and began to sing.

"_Oh, many years ago _

_When the founders still lived, _

_They searched for a way _

_To sort their students in the houses they should be. _

_They enchanted a hat, _

_That could see the student's personality,_

_What they feared and what they wanted to be._

_This hat is me and I know what to do_

_Just sit on the stoll and put me on your head _

_I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_For the enchanted cap, _

_So put me on and I will tell you _

_What's your destiny _

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where the braves find their place, _

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Marks their fate; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those Hufflepuffs work hard _

_And are united as one; _

_Or you could be in Ravenclaw, _

_If you make your own mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll learn what you need to be, _

_Those cunning folk use any means _

_To achieve their plans. _

_Try me on and prepare to hear_

_Because after the sorting_

_Part of your destiny will be sealed.'_

The hall clapped and Mary looked stunned. The Sorting was made by a hat that could see their thoughts, genial! As the students were called Mary got even more nervous, her hands were shaking and she looked at the head table for support. She saw her god father sitting beside a small man and he smiled at her.

'Black, Mary'

The hall broke into whispers. Mary could hear the words: mass-murderer, Black and Azkaban clearly and took a deep breath. She looked at her god father one more time and smiled nervously; she walked towards the hat and sat on the stool, putting it in her head.

'_Hmm... Another Black came to Hogwarts. Interesting, you remind me of another Black, Sirius Black, not like the rest of your family... Oh yes... he's your father. You're worried about him aren't you? He would never be able to betray his friends like that, he is not like his family at all, I sorted him right. Hmmm. Well, let's get over it. Wants to prove yourself hmmm, very just and hardworking as well. Intelligent, can think logically, thirsty for knowledge. Very brave indeed, interesting would do anything to protect the loved ones. Your father was like that you know? Very daring... Interesting. You would do well in any of the four houses. Not Slytherin, you're not cunning or ambitious enough to be there, you'd never step over anyone to achieve your plans. You'd do well in Hufflepuff but your patience isn't that good. Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? Where should you be?'_ A voice in Mary's head said and Mary was too stunned to answer. _'Prove yourself Mary Mae Black, confront your fears and you'll be great in-'_

'GRYFFINDOR!' The hat cried and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Mary smiled and went towards the table, where a few people shook her hand and some of them looking wary at her. She looked at the head table and saw her god father beaming at her. Soon enough the sorting ended.

At that moment the headmaster stood up to speak, the hall was silent. Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of great energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles, and an extremely crooked nose.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..." Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Mary shuddered. Dumbledore did not look happy with the Dementors guarding the school.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, 'It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors," Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Mary clapped hard and smiled at her god father even though only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard, Harry among them. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes. "As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

Mary joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Hagrid was ruby-red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

After the feast, when the Gryffindors were leaving to their Common Room, they met Remus waiting for Mary and Harry to go to the Hospital Wing at the door. When Mary saw him, she almost ran in his direction but remembered that he was not her 'Uncle Remus' now, he was Professor Lupin.

'Congratulations, Mary!' He smiled at her.

'Thank you, Professor Lupin' she grinned and he smiled.

'I'll always be your Uncle Remus for you.'

After Harry arrived they went towards the Hospital Wing. Remus tried to make a conversation but both Harry and Mary were in their own world and were too shy. And even if Ron said that he should stay away from that 'Black girl' he couldn't, there was something connecting them, like she knew what he's been through, and you don't get to choose your family after all. After Madam Pomfrey fussed over them, Remus walked them back to the Gryffindor Tower. After Harry thanked him and entered Remus hugged Mary and kissed her temple.

'Goodnight cub, I love you. And I'm proud of you.'

'Goodnight, Uncle Moony.' She yawned. 'Love you too.'

Mary walked towards what she thought it was the girls' first year dorms and saw her things on the bed closest to the window where Haze was sleeping soundly. She changed to her pyjamas and got Paddy. Before she fell asleep she could have sworn she saw the real Padfoot sitting on the edge of the forest.

**A/N: Hey, this is the longest chapter I've ever written. I wondered if I should divide it in two but decided against it. Hope you liked how the Dementor thing turned out. **

**Please check my other story; it's a Potter Twins Story. It's called the Fire of the Phoenix.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.**

**AU**

**Chapter 10 – Revelations**

Early the next day Mary was up. She didn't sleep well because she kept missing her bedroom at home. She was slightly scared of what would happen today; after all it was her first day of classes.

After she got ready for the day she went to the common room and continued reading Hogwarts, a History. After a while, more people showed up so she presumed it was already time to go to the Great Hall. She stood up and turned around almost bumping into Harry.

'Sorry' they said together and laughed.

'Are you okay?' Harry asked looking her over for some injury unconsciously. Mary nodded. 'Err... Are you going to the Great Hall right now?'

'Yeah.'

'Should we go together? I mean Ron and Hermione are still bickering about their pets.' Harry rolled his eyes.

'O-Okay.'

They walked in silence all the way to the Great Hall each one of them immersed in their own thoughts. Mary was wondering why Harry wanted to talk and -she dared to say-be friends with her? Didn't he know who her father was supposed to be? Even if it was not true?

Harry was looking at Mary with a strange expression. _'Why do I feel like I need to protect her? And what happened to this girl that is so much like me when I first arrived here? I won't let her get hurt like I did.'_

Only a few students were there as well as some of the professors including Professor Lupin. Mary looked at him and smiled, he smiled back and pointed at the table where a vial has appeared from nowhere. Mary rolled his eyes and stuck her tongue out for her god father who mocked a stern look but gave in and laughed pointing at the vial again. Harry watched the scene with longing and Remus when he saw this smiled at the boy. Harry blushed and lowered his head.

After that Professor McGonagall gave away their timetables and Mary saw that her first class was Charms with the Ravenclaws; then she had double History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs Astronomy with the Ravenclaws again and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs after lunch. Mary's heart gave a leap seeing that she had class with her god father tomorrow after double Potions.

Charms class was brilliant in Mary's opinion; Professor Flitwick was a small but a very talented wizard. He welcomed them to Hogwarts and explained what they would be studying in his class. Mary sat paired with a straw-coloured hair girl named Francesca (she was a Gryffindor) and they started studying Charms theory. Mary was very interested in how spells were created. She already loved the subject.

History of Magic was... dull. Mary loved History, the subject. But Professor Binns – the Professor who died and got up on the other day as a ghost to teach as she heard people saying– could make a cat meowing seems more interesting than the Goblin Wars. By the end of the class, not a student person was awake and Professor Binns didn't seem to notice. She would have to find a way to bewitch her quill to take notes.

Mary found Astronomy very interesting and couldn't wait to have their nocturne class once a week. Mary always loved to watch the stars, and learning about each one of them was something that she always wanted. Professor Sinistra was very strict but seemed to like Mary from the interest she displayed in the class –she was one of the few.

On her way back to the Great Hall Mary decided to go to the Library and hopefully find the book she was looking for. The problem was that she didn't know which way was the library, she thought about asking her god father but she didn't know where he was either. She kept walking around the hallways, as if looking for a sign pointing her way. When she almost gave up and decided to go to her Common Room – until she remembered that she didn't know where it was or where she was for the matter– she bumped for the second time of the day into someone.

'Oh, I'm sorry.' A boy said and extended his hand to help her up.

'T-That's okay.' Mary said quietly, she took his hand warily and unsure. People in the orphanage did that to her a lot and always let her fall back. She shook away the thought and concentrated on the boy. He had brown hair and light brown eyes and his uniform had the Ravenclaw colours in it. 'I-it was my fault.'

He shook his head. 'I'm Nicholas and I'm a second year in Ravenclaw.'

'I-I'm Mary and t-this is my f-first year in Gryffindor.' She shook his hand carefully.

'Are you lost?' He asked, getting his books from the floor.

Mary nodded embarrassed. 'I-I was looking f-for the library.' She mumbled.

'Oh the library is on the second floor. I can take you there if you want.' He shrugged.

'Y-You don't have-' Mary started.

'I know. But I was going to the Great Hall and the library is on the way anyway, might as well show you where it is.'

They walked in the empty hallways Mary actually feeling a bit strange. Two people were nice to her, even knowing who her father was. She was starting to get overwhelmed.

'That's the library.' Nicholas pointed her. 'And to go to the Great Hall you just have to follow this hallway and you'll find the stairs.

'Thank you.' Mary smiled shyly.

'No problem. It was nice to meet you.' He smiled as well and walked towards the stairs that would lead you to the Great Hall.

'You too.' She said quietly and continued her way to the library that was also empty except for Madam Pince, the librarian.

'Shouldn't you be at the Great Hall young lady?' Madam Pince stared sternly at Mary.

'S-Sorry ma'am. I-I was just l-looking for a b-book. I-I-I can come back later if y-you want.' Mary gulped and looked down. The librarian's expression softened.

'There's no need to dear. I thought you were one of these people who sneak in here trying to get to the Restricted Section while I'm not around.' Mary shook her head. 'You can take the book you want dear, just leave your name. I will go to the Great Hall.'

'I-It's Mary, Mary Black.'

'Oh! Remus god daughter!' Madam Pince actually smiled delighted. 'Alright Ms. Black. I hope you find your book. Take any book you want.' Mary thanked her and then she left.

Mary wondered looking for the Transfiguration Section and found it in the far end. She looked through the dusty shelves and found a few books but decided on getting 'How to Become an Animagus' by Isaac Stewart. And then she got a Charms book named: 'Bewitching the Most Useful Things' by Brianna Miller that should have the spell to bewitch her quill. She put it inside her bag and looked at the clock; she spent more time lost than she thought; it was almost time for Herbology.

After that Herbology class Mary could say that so far Herbology was her worst subject. The plants seemed to hate her and when she got closer to it, most of them scooted away. She always liked the outside but never liked her gardening chores in the orphanage. The main case was that in the end, the garden would be worse than it was before and they knew that, they just wanted an excuse to punish her. Professor Sprout looked with pity at her, as if wishing she had his mother's talent in the subject as did Mary. How would his mother be feeling right now seeing that her only daughter was a failure in her favourite subject?

After the class Mary sat under a tree in front of the lake thinking. She looked around the grounds and couldn't help but smile. She was at Hogwarts the place where her parents met, where the Marauders started, where they learned everything and made true friends-

'May I sit here?' She looked around and saw Harry.

'S-Sure.'

'Professor Lupin was looking for you.' Harry looked at her.

'Oh' that was all she said. She looked down biting her lip. She knew he would be worried about her missing lunch, if there was one rule that she couldn't break – besides the full moon one – was no missing meals. She wouldn't be surprised if her god father decided to spoon feed her in front of everyone on the Great Hall. She snorted.

'A knut for your thoughts?'

Mary shook her head and instead searched for her Gryffindor courage to ask Harry a question she's been wanting to since this morning.

'Why?' She asked bluntly.

'What?'

'W-Why do you want to be friends with me? No one does or e-ever did for the matter. They're all afraid my father is coming t-to get them. A-and now, you, whom they all _say_ that my father wants killed, is talking to m-me.' Mary looked at him hopelessly.

'Exactly. Your father, not you. We don't choose family.' Harry said more to himself than to her. 'I don't know _what_ happened and _how_ it happened. But I saw you in Diagon Alley and well I felt like a chill in my spine but I ignored it. It was like I knew you but didn't at the same time. But when I saw you again at the train I felt it again and I don't know what it means. I just know that what I'm doing right now feels right.'

Mary smiled. 'I-I felt it too.' She said quietly.

'Yeah. Look, don't worry about what people say about your father. You... You have me now okay? I know that it may sound strange but you can trust me.' They looked in each other's eyes and felt warmth spread through their bodies.

'Thank you Harry.' She said for once without the usual stutter and smiled. They sat in silence for a while just looking at the lake. 'Harry?'

'Hmm?'

'What would you say if I said that it wasn't my father that killed those muggles or betrayed your parents?' She asked quietly biting her lip.

'W-What do you mean by 'betrayed your parents'?' He looked open mouthed at her.

'W-What do you know?' She knew she messed it up but now it didn't matter, she somehow knew he would believe her.

'Only that he went to Azkaban for killing twelve muggles.'

Mary sighed and told him everything. Since the Marauders until that Halloween night. She told him about her mother's letter as well and about how she thought that Pettigrew was at Hogwarts. Only keeping out her god father's 'furry little problem'. In the end Mary was in tears and Harry close to.

'P-Please Harry. Y-You have t-to believe me.' Mary sobbed looking desperately at him.

'I-I do. I do believe you. It's just too much.' He buried his head in his hands.

'I-I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't h-have told you. U-Uncle Remus said that I c-couldn't tell anyone. He w-won't trust me anymore and h-he'll be mad.' Mary hugged her knees and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She thought it was Harry at first but she saw him jumping at the hand on his shoulder as well.

'I'm not mad cub. Harry had the right to know and there was no one better than you to tell him.' Her god father smiled sadly and sat down next to them.

'H-How much did you heard?' She asked but one look at his pained face she knew the answer. 'I betrayed y-your trust.' She sobbed and he pulled her onto his lap not caring about the StudentxProfessor relationship anymore. She was his god daughter and she needed him. Remus then put an arm around Harry. Harry flinched and didn't notice the concerned look Remus sent him.

'How are you taking all this Harry?'

'I-I don't know.' Harry said hopeless. 'It's just s-so overwhelming.' Remus nodded and rubbed Harry's back.

'How about we go to my quarters? You can eat there if you're not in the mood to face your friends. And I can explain you everything and I could tell you stories about your parents if you want.' Remus said and Harry smiled as he tried to wipe his tears without anyone noticing he was crying. They got up and walked together towards the castle. Harry needing more comfort then he would care to admit.

Remus quarters were close to the Gryffindor tower and the entrance was behind a portrait of a woman eating grapes. The password was 'Honeydukes the finest' and it sent Mary – who wasn't crying anymore – into a fit of giggles making Harry laugh along with her. Remus smiled at them both and led them inside. There were two bedrooms, a small kitchen and a small drawing room. They sat together and nobody made a sound until Remus asked Harry.

'What do you want to know Harry? Ask away and I'll do my best to answer.' He said kindly and Harry hesitated, could he really ask questions?

'Err... S-so-' Harry gulped. 'Sirius is my god father, sir?'

Remus smiled, he knew Harry would ask it first. 'Please call me Remus when we are alone, Harry. I feel old when people call me 'sir'.' Harry nodded. 'And yes, Lily and James made him your god father the day you were born.'

Harry nodded. 'Do you think Pettigrew is at Hogwarts sir? I mean Remus. Sorry.' Remus waved Harry's apology away and nodded.

'That is probably the reason Sirius is coming to Hogwarts. That or to check on you.' Mary looked down and Remus put an arm around her. Harry looked overwhelmed; surely Sirius wouldn't come all this way just for _him_.

**A/N: Hey. I didn't like this chapter at all but I felt like I should update soon. I wanted to thank for all the feedback on the last chapter, it left me speechless. Thank you so much for everything!**

**Anyway, sorry for this rubbish but I hope you like it at least a little bit and please review. And if you could check on my other story I would be extremely happy!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. **

**Fearful**

**Chapter 11: Attack on Halloween**

A month passed and Remus was everyone's favourite professor. Harry spent most of his free time with Mary, Ron and Hermione were bickering like an old married couple and Mary didn't have anyone. Ron looked with disgust every time he saw Mary, and always managed to make some nasty comment.

That Halloween Harry, Mary and Remus had dinner in Remus' quarters. Harry didn't feel like celebrating the day his parents died because of him, it pained him enough as it was, not having a proper family. He noticed that Remus looked ill again and that Mary was concerned, he tried to reassure her but she nodded and continued to look at her god father with sad eyes, as if she knew something else.

Harry was currently in front of the portrait that guarded Remus' quarters but he couldn't say the password, he didn't want to intrude in Remus and Mary's Halloween. Suddenly the witch inside the portrait stepped aside and Remus came out to bump straight into Harry who fell on the floor.

'Harry! I was about to go to the Gryffindor Tower to see if you'd come. I thought you decided to go to the feast.' Remus extended a hand and pulled Harry up. 'You should have entered.' Remus smiled kindly as Harry blushed and looked down. 'Come on, Mary is waiting for us.' Remus put an arm around Harry's shoulder and decided to ignore it when Harry tensed.

Dinner was quiet, nobody had much to talk. After eating they sat together by the fire and Remus told them stories about the Marauders and he could see from the way Harry's eyes were shining – the same way Mary's did - that he had never heard stories about his parents and it pained Remus' heart.

'And then one night when I arrived at my dorm a dog, a stag and a rat were there waiting for me. It crept out.' Remus finished the story about the day the marauder's finished the Animagus transformation –without telling about his furry little problem- with a sad smile as he remembered the time when they were together and Peter wasn't a Death Eater.

He looked around and saw Mary yawning; he pulled her close so that her head was resting on his chest. Harry had a thoughtful look on his face.

'A knut for your thoughts Harry?' Remus asked smiling slightly. He knew today was a difficult day for Harry as well.

'Y-You said Pettigrew could transform into a rat and that he cut a finger before transforming...' Remus nodded. 'So the r-rat would be missing a finger?'

'Yes, Harry.' Remus frowned, what was that about? Suddenly Harry lost control.

'No, no, no! No, that's not possible, no, no, no!' Harry stood up and started pacing with glassy eyes. Remus and Mary looked at him concerned. 'NO! IT CAN'T BE! I COULD HAVE KILLED HIM! HE WAS THERE FOR THREE YEARS! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!' Tears fell down from Harry's eyes and Remus stood up quickly and walked towards Harry, kneeling down and pinning Harry's arms to his side.

'Shh. Calm down Harry. Tell me what's wrong, come on _cub_. Breathe.' Remus didn't notice his slip he just pulled Harry into his arms and rubbed his back like he used to do when Harry was a baby and wouldn't stop crying. Harry struggled to get away but gave up the fight and just sobbed, mumbling incoherent words. Harry was crying for the lost of his parents, for his life at the Dursleys, for the lack of affection and for knowing that the cause of it all was nearer than he thought. Remus didn't know when or how, but Mary joined their hug and they ended up in the sofa, Remus between Mary and Harry and both of them resting their head in Remus shoulder. Harry couldn't remember the last time someone hugged him or held him like that, it felt good. Suddenly Harry pulled away as if he got burned.

'S-Sorry' He said with puffy eyes. 'I didn't mean to.'

'That's alright Harry.' Remus said soothingly. 'Want to tell us what that was about?'

'P-Pettigrew has been sleeping in my dorm room for three years. He is s-scabbers, my best mate Ron's p-pet rat.' What Remus was expecting wasn't this. He looked at Harry open mouthed and looked to be in shock.

'H-How do you know Harry?' Mary asked quietly staring at him as if she never seen him.

'Ron told me that the rat has been in his family for twelve years, Pettigrew is 'dead' for twelve years; Scabbers is missing a toe, Pettigrew cut his own finger after transforming.' You could hear the rage on Harry's voice.

'B-But why he didn't f-finish his master's job?' Mary asked trying not to think about something like that. Harry was her brother, blood related or not.

'Peter only does something if he knew he would get something in return. He wouldn't kill Harry Potter right under Dumbledore's nose and throw away his cover story for nothing. He is like that since forever.' Remus said with his voice full of poison, his eyes liquid amber as the wolf tried to gain control. Mary put a hand on her god father's arm and he gained control of the wolf, the full moon was close now.

'I-if we get the rat we can prove that daddy's innocent right Uncle Remus?' Remus nodded as Harry jumped up and walked towards the portrait.

'Come on, let's get Sca-Pettigrew.' Remus and Mary followed and walking through many passageways that -surprisingly for them- Remus knew. When they asked him about it he just said: 'I was a student here and got into my share of mischief as well.' And winked at them.

When they arrived at the Gryffindor Tower it wasn't what they expected. All Gryffindor students seemed to be outside, as well as the headmaster and the professors. The Fat Lady's frame as torn apart, everything seemed to stop. Remus just turned to them and whispered: 'stay together.' Before he walked to know what happened. Ron and Hermione saw them and ran flustered in their direction, Ron ignoring Mary.

'Sirius Black! He ripped the Fat Lady when he was trying to enter the Gryffindor Common Room!' Ron looked at Mary his eyes shining with determination. 'Well Black, how do you feel knowing _your daddy_ is trying to kill _your only friend_? That's right; Harry is your only friend isn't he? And now you will be alone.' Ron sneered at her and Mary backed away and ran.

'RON! STOP IT OKAY? I'M TIRED OF YOU HAVING A GO AT HER. SHE DIDN'T DO NOTHING WRONG!' Harry yelled at his best mate, every eye turned to them. 'WHERE IS YOUR DAMNED RAT ANYWAY?'

'WHY ARE YOU ON HER SIDE?! I'M YOUR BEST MATE! HER FATHER IS A MASS MURDERER THAT'S TRYING TO KILL YOU AND YOU INSIST ON BEING FRIENDS WITH HER! AND WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH POOR SCABBERS ANYWAY! HERMIONE'S CAT ATE HIM!'

'BE QUIET BOTH OF YOU!' Hermione yelled at them. 'RON, YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO SCREAM AT THAT LITTLE GIRL LIKE THAT AND MY CAT DID NOT ATE SCABBERS HE PROBABLY RAN AWAY!'

'GO HERMIONE! TAKE HIS SIDE AS WELL! IT'S NOT LIKE I NEED YOU ANYWAY!' He stormed towards the Great Hall leaving Hermione behind with tears in her eyes. _'Great'_ thought Harry _'Now I have two crying girls to calm down.'_

He awkwardly hugged Hermione; somehow it felt easier to hug Mary. He patted Hermione on the back and tried to tell her that Ron would come around. After she calmed down she thanked him and he just shook his head, trying to hide how perturbed he was with the way Ron reacted. He knew Ron was scared for him but he couldn't shake the fear of losing his first friend.

Mary ran, ran and ran. She didn't know where she was going and she knew her god father would be worried sick but she didn't care. Every whisper, every sneer and every look of disgust that she kept hidden from everyone came to surface as she ran. Hogwarts was supposed to be a sanctuary, where everyone had a place and where everyone fit in. She suddenly felt a new feeling towards her father, she was angry at him, angry for going after Pettigrew and getting arrested leaving her and Harry alone; she knew she was being unfair but she wasn't thinking. She was angry at everyone who thought him as a murderer and who didn't want to get near her because of whom her father was.

She stopped when she reached a tree, she didn't recognized the tree at first but after the branch hit her for the first time she knew she was in front of the Whomping Willow. She tried to get away but the tree kept hitting her and fell down with a sprained ankle. She didn't know if it was the tree hitting her or the Dementors but flashbacks of her time in the orphanage came to her and she couldn't shake the feeling away. She thought she saw her Padfoot before it all went black.

Sirius knew he shouldn't have ripped the Fat Lady but he was never known for thinking before acting and it was even worse after Azkaban. He could just think about Peter, how when he found the rat he would make him pay for what he did.

He was currently sitting on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he knew he shouldn't be here, especially with his best mate teaching, or former best mate. Sirius wondered if Remus believed him to be the spy as Sirius believed him to be in the war. In Sirius mind it was his entire fault, if he hadn't fallen on Peter's trap and believed Remus to be the spy, Lily and James would be alive.

He was interrupted from his thought when he saw Dementors next to the Whomping Willow that was hitting something badly. He didn't stop to think, he just ran the faster he could with for legs for the second time that night. It was a little girl, she was black hair and was all bloodied. She was whimpering slightly, Sirius thought he saw recognition in her eyes before she blacked out.

Sirius barked, trying to get someone's attention, even if he knew they were alone. A Dementor was lowering his hood to administer the kiss when two familiar forms came to view. One of them was a stag – Prongs – and the other one was a wolf, a werewolf – Moony- and drove the Dementors away. Sirius knew Remus would recognize him if he saw him if he hadn't already but he couldn't move, he couldn't leave this little girl alone. His heart felt like it was about to explode and he didn't know why. He just needed to make sure she was safe.

He saw Remus pick the little girl up, putting a hand behind her head for support and he felt jealous of him as if Sirius should be in Remus position. He saw Harry – his heart beating even faster – talking fast to Remus, he looked as if he was shaking.

Sirius for a moment thought he saw Remus and Harry look in his direction and smile but when he blinked they were running towards the castle.

Remus ran with Mary in his arms and Harry right behind him. He felt as if the Dementors where sucking his own soul when he saw that Dementor lower its hood to kiss his little god daughter. If it wasn't for Sirius they would be too late, Padfoot's bark alerted them. He got himself thinking if Sirius knew that he saved his own daughter's life.

Remus didn't know how he would live if his god daughter was ripped away from his life that way. He couldn't remember being any happier than when she called him Uncle Remus for the first time, or every time he heard her contagious laugh. He didn't know how he survived nine years without knowing where she was but now that she entered his life he wasn't ready to let her go.

When he arrived at the hospital wing he screamed his lungs out for Poppy and the flustered medi-witch came, prepared to scold him but when she saw Mary she snapped into a full healer mode. Since her first visit, Madam Pomfrey was fond of her.

'What happened, Remus?' Remus told her everything – leaving out Sirius part and she proceeded to heal Mary's injuries. She asked Remus to help her to pour some Potions down Mary's throat. Remus gently sat on the bed, next to his god daughter and lifted her so she was resting the back of her head on his chest, he gently cupped her chin and opened her mouth to pour the vials' contents down her throat, massaging it to make her swallow.

He didn't notice Harry at the end of the bed looking at Mary with sad and concerned eyes or Poppy smiling sadly. He just wanted his beautiful god daughter to open her big grey eyes to him. He promised himself he would keep her even closer to him and wouldn't let her out of his sight, if not for her sake then for his.

'She will be alright, Remus. However, she will need to stay at least the night here.' Madam Pomfrey said and Remus nodded. He didn't hear Poppy telling Harry to go to the Great Hall where everyone was sleeping and him telling her he would stay the night there for Mary. He wasn't aware of his surroundings he just knew that Mary needed to wake up and he would be the first thing she would see. How many times she would have to suffer before he could protect her like he promised to, like he should?

**A/N: Thank you sooooooo much for your feedback! I can't find the words to describe how happy I feel every time I refresh my email and there's a review! Please keep reading and review.**

**Also, I really love Ron. I feel that he would react badly if he thought someone was a danger to his friends and we know he is hot-headed. Anyway, I hope you forgive me for that.**

**I hope you liked the way the events turned out, I was really tempted to free Sirius tonight but thanks (or not) to one of my best friends for making you wait longer.**

**Anyway, please review, favourite and subscribe!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter.**

**Fearful**

**Chapter 12- Understanding**

A few days later Mary found herself walking towards the Quidditch Pitch for the Gryffindor x Hufflepuff match. Her godfather was currently by her side, since the night of the attack almost a week ago he barely let her alone. Not that she minded, she found herself having more and more nightmares of the orphanage since she was attacked by the Whomping Willow and the Dementors and Remus was the only one that could calm her down and make her feel safe. However, she didn't like to even think about that living nightmare; only thinking about the Dementors was enough to make her blood freeze. Harry was slightly overprotective since the attack as well, he was constantly spending time with her and leaving his friends alone, he and Ron still weren't talking and Ron shot dirty looks towards Mary every time he saw her, like she was to blame._ 'Well, I am.' _She thought._ 'If it weren't for me they wouldn't have fought.' _She didn't want to talk, she just wanted to be alone in silence, only then she could hear herself thinking and even if her thoughts weren't good they were hers and no one could take it away. But at the same time she was scared of her thoughts, she was afraid that Brandon Clark would come and get her, he said he would and when he found her it would be worse than ever. She could only find warmth and calm in her god father's embrace.

Remus was worried about his god daughter. Every day she talked and ate even less and she refused to talk what was bothering her, Remus had his suspicions but it wasn't the same, there was more to it. Since the attack she was sleeping in her bedroom in Remus' quarters and every night he would wake up hearing her cries, he would calm her down and _try_ to make her talk and she'd sleep again, only to be repeated the next day. He was very worried that she would turn back into that recluse and scared girl that she was when she came to live with him. He knew it had to be something related to the abuse, he wanted to know what.

When the Quidditch Pitch came into view Mary couldn't help but smile, she'd felt so free when she was flying. Even though her classmates were there on her flying lesson, it was like they were invisible. Their taunts didn't have any effect on her when she was up in the sky.

_It was a sunny day, Mary and the other first years from Gryffindor were on their way to the flying lesson. Mary couldn't help herself, she was so excited! Her godfather told her that her father was a beater in the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, Harry's father a chaser. She couldn't help but feel nervous, though. What if she fell? What if she was a terrible flier? Her god father had never taught her how to fly, he was scared she would get hurt and she didn't want to bother him with it, even if she was very excited about flying since the moment she was told it was possible._

_Waiting for them were the Slytherins, the most part of them looked confident, with a sneer on their faces. There was a girl that looked slightly put out; she had light brown hair and blue eyes. Lola Davis was her name, Mary remembered her sorting. She, like Mary, looked alone and nervous._

'_Scared mudblood?'A black-skinned boy from Slytherin sneered, his name was Geoffrey Zabini. 'Why don't you go back to your filthy mudblood parents and use a broom that you know how to control huh? Try sweeping the filth out of you.' His cronies laughed and she looked down and bit her lip, Mary could relate to that girl. She knew that was very rare for a muggle-born be placed in Slytherin, and that girl was in for something great. But if this kept going, she might turn to the bad side for refuge._

'_Stop that will you? Do you feel good, pushing people down only because you're weak and scared?' Mary said before she could stop herself. For once without cowering under their stares. _

'_Who are you to talk huh? You'd do a great team, a murderer's daughter and a mudblood.' An aura of power shook around her, and everyone around her noticed. For the first time the words didn't seem to get to her, she wouldn't let this people turn Lola's life a living hell even if she didn't even know the girl. It reminded her too much of the orphanage to let this girl suffer the same, she'd help her like she wished someone was there to help. A 'mudblood' here wasn't that much different from a 'freak'. Before she could answer Madam Hooch arrived, she had short and grey hair and yellow eyes. Lola shot her a small smile and mouthed 'thank you', Mary just shook her head a smiled shyly back._

_Lola looked down again, her few weeks here proved to be a living hell. Her own housemates didn't like her only because she was a muggle-born and the students from the other houses wouldn't get near her because she was in Slytherin and was evil. Stupid house prejudice. She knew how difficult it was for her to swallow her pride and ask for help, and that girl, Mary, helped her without being asked _even though_ she was a snake, and lions and snakes didn't get along. _'If I knew that being in Slytherin would be so bad, I would've asked the Sorting Hat to put me in any other house maybe he would take my choice into account.' _She thought gloomily_

'_Alright, I want everyone standing by broomstick. Stick out a hand and say 'UP'.'_

'_UP!' All the students shouted Mary was one of the first to get a broom. Hers jumped into her hand and Mary felt a warm feeling spread through her body. Mary looked around, only a few people managed to get a broom. Madam Hooch shot Mary a rare smile. Some of the brooms hadn't moved at all, like Romilda's. Romilda Vane was a curly black haired girl from Gryffindor that shared the dorm with Mary, she was always with her two friends Abigail Smith and Miranda Grey and made sure to get all attention she could. Mary noticed that she seemed to have something for Harry and something inside her growled, Harry was her brother and she wouldn't let any girl like Romilda near him._

'_Now that all of you have your broom from safe in your hands, I want you to kick off from the ground hard and fly around the pitch. On the count of three…' She counted and they kicked off. Mary never felt something so good, she felt free and safe up here as if nothing could reach her. She felt like every worried thought, every bad memory and every problem was left on the ground, she was in control here, and she could do what she wanted to. Everything disappeared and it was just her and the millions of possibilities spread on the blue sky._

'Mary? Cub? Are you there?' Her godfather was looking at her concerned.

'Sorry, just drifted off.' She tried to smile, now that she was back here everything that was bothering her came back.

'You seem to be doing that a lot later. Care to share what you're thinking about so much?' Remus frowned and put a hand on her shoulder to guide her to the stands, the moment they stepped out of the covered space they were soaked. It was raining hard. Mary shook her head. 'We'll talk about it later.' Mary sighed and nodded, she knew that her god father wouldn't let her out of this one.

'MARY! PROFESSOR LUPIN!' They turned around and saw Harry waving; Mary smiled and went towards him.

'Good luck, Harry.' Mary said as he hugged her. They were both freezing. Seeing that, Remus performed a warming spell on them both, receiving grateful smiles in return.

'How can they let you play in this weather? You will barely be able to see a ball!' Remus exclaimed. He had to admit guiltily that he was more concerned about Harry being hit by a bludger in the head than about the other players. _'Screw that, Harry is my best mate's son. I have every right to be concerned!'_ He thought. 'Here, Harry. Give me your glasses.' Harry looked at him confused but gave it to him anyway. 'Impervius.' Remus tapped the glasses with his wand and gave them back to Harry. 'It will repel the water.'

'POTTER! Come here! The game is about to start and we can't afford to lose!' Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Captain called and Harry thanked Remus and walked away.

'Let's go then.' They walked up the stairs and sat on the top of the stands.

'Uncle Remus-' Mary said, her lips trembling. 'Couldn't you cast that spell on us? The _Impervius_ one.'

He chuckled. 'I could, but it'd wear off after a while because it's raining hard and we would be soaked the same. But this will help' He casted another warming spell on them and took a piece of parchment from his pocket and transfigured it into an umbrella. He then, opened his cloak to cover Mary as well. She moved closer to take refuge under her Uncle Remus' cloak and rested her head on his shoulder.

'Excited for your first Quidditch Match? Rolanda commented to me that you have talent.' He smiled at her.

'Really?'

'Really, even though I'd rather if you kept both of your feet on the ground. But being your father's daughter couldn't be different. Your parents would be so proud, cub. I am so proud of you.' She blushed and smiled, even after a year she wasn't used to all these compliments or to people being proud of her. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the game started. You could barely make out forms, the only think you could see were yellow and red points zooming across the pitch. The sound of the comments was muffled by the roar of the wind and thunder, each second it seemed to rain harder. Remus kept casting warming spells on them but it didn't seem to take effect, soon enough they were freezing again. He couldn't even imagine how cold Harry would be up in the sky.

Mary cheered and laughed from the muffled comments and for a moment she seemed the Mary before the attack again but soon it was over.

A cold, different from the freezing weather hovered over the pitch. Mary felt hopeless, all the adrenaline of the game dissipated. She heard Brandon Clark screaming insults _('Freak! Worthless piece of scum!'), someone_ calling her name and she felt someone pulling her close, she saw Harry falling and for the third time it all went black.

Remus felt the sudden cold and knew what it was. Dementors all around the pitch, he pulled Mary to his chest and rubbed her back and called her name. There was nothing he could do; the Dementors were close enough for a Patronus. He never felt so hopeless, he saw something red falling. Harry. He wished it was just the Dementors making him relieve something of his own imagination but knew it was the truth, Harry was gone. He prayed to God it wasn't true. _'No, no! He can't die! Not him too!' _Suddenly, the Dementors were gone and Harry was floating to the ground, his broomstick flying away adrift before it collided to the Whomping Willow. He gave a sight if relief and his heart felt lighter, Harry was alive!

Remus saw everyone run to take a look at _The-Boy-Who-Lived_ and couldn't help the anger he felt. He was just a boy! Why wouldn't anyone take him to the hospital wing?

Mary started to stir, he called her name and she opened her eyes. They were puffy and red, tears streaming down her face mixing with the rain that kept falling.

'It's over cub, they're not here. I won't let anything happen to you. I love you, cub.' He hugged her but couldn't shake away the feeling that he'd promised that the last time and it happened again.

'I-It's not your f-fault, U-Uncle Remus.' She said, as if she knew what he was thinking. 'You couldn't help it.' He was about to protest when she asked the one thing he was dreading. 'H-Harry... Is he... Is he d-d-dead?' The tears kept falling faster. She tried to look strong, failing miserably.

'No, Dumbledore managed to stop his fall.' He smiled through misty eyes of relief, he didn't know how he would cope if they took Harry away from him. 'Let's go see him, shall we?' She nodded and got up almost falling down the stands. 'Here, eat this.' He gave her a large piece of Honeydukes the Finest and she put it on her mouth, feeling the warmth spread through her body.

'Why did you have chocolate on your pocket, Uncle Moony?' She wiped her tears and looked at him funnily.

'You never know when you'll need some chocolate.' He smiled guiltily. She chuckled but Remus could tell that she was faking; her eyes showed that she was slightly perturbed about her memories, again.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, Ron and Hermione were leaving. Ron looked away from her.

'How is he?' Remus asked concerned.

'He's up... and really upset about his broom.' Hermione said.

'It's broken beyond repair?' Remus asked already knowing the answer.

'Yeah.' Ron said sadly.

'We'll go talk to him.' Her godfather put an arm around her and led her through the doors, not before receiving another glare from Ron.

Harry was lying down, bruised and looked in pain. Mary ran to his side, for a moment forgetting about her memories.

'How are you feeling? I thought you were dead!' She made to hug him but decided against it, maybe he didn't want to hug her and she could hurt him. Her memories fresh again in her mind. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

'Fine.' He said automatically. Remus looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Harry said that a lot. 'Well... I'm feeling like I fell off my broom.' He grinned cheekily.

'Not fun.' She was still shaking.

'Hey, calm down Mair I'm alright, see?'

'Mair?'

'I-It's a nickname, d-don't you like it?' He looked at her apprehensively.

'No, no. I do like it.' She smiled.

Remus smiled at their interaction.

'You gave us quite a scare Harry.'

'S-Sorry, Remus.' Harry looked down. Remus lifted Harry's chin, noticing Harry's flinch when his hand came closer to Harry's face.

'Hey, don't apologize. It was not your fault. But I'd rather if you kept both feet on the ground, dangerous sport.' \he mumbled the last part.

'So- Okay.'

'Eat this and rest. Poppy is about to chuck us out.' Remus gave him chocolate and reached out to ruffle Harry's hair, Harry tensed at the touch. Remus looked at him concerned, something was really wrong.

'Will I have to stay here the night?'

'I'm afraid so, Harry. But we'll come back later. Now come, cub.'

'Bye, Har...' He smiled.

'Bye, Mair'

After dinner, Remus and Mary went back to the Hospital Wing but Harry was asleep so they went to Remus' quarters where Mary would sleep again tonight. She went to get ready to bed and Remus got the seventh year essays on Unforgivables to grade but his mind wasn't on it. He knew he would've to talk to Mary about the attack and what she heard when the Dementors were near. Just like when she arrived, he would have to go slowly.

'U-Uncle Remus?' She knocked and put her head inside the room.

'Come here, cub.' She entered the room dressed in light blue pyjamas, her hair slightly wet. Remus smiled. He pulled his chair away from the table as she came in his direction and he pulled her into his lap.

'What are you doing?' She asked, looking at the paper.

'Grading some 7th year essays.' He smiled at her interest, even in the interest in knowledge and books came from her mother, the curiosity came definitely from Sirius.

'Oh.' She backed away and rested her head on her god father's chest when she read the title.

'Look cub, we need to talk. I know you don't want to but you'll feel better if you do, I promise.' She looked down uncertain and lifted her chin. 'It's just me cub, remember? Why won't you talk to me? It's Uncle Remus, you know I'll help you and do my best to understand what's wrong so we can work on a solution together, like a family. But if you want me to help you, you have to tell me what's wrong.'

She looked down again while fidgeting with her hands, Remus then, held one of her hands and pressed his finger between her thumb and forefinger, squeezing her hand, and he knew it always calmed her down. When he was about to try again she answered so quietly that he had to strain his ears to hear, even being a werewolf. When she did answer it wasn't what he expected to hear.

'I-I'm sorry.'

'What exactly are you sorry for, cub hmm?'

'F-For bothering y-you especially just after the full moon. I-I just can't help it. E-Everyone here hates me and throw insults at me, they won't even look at me. It's just you and Harry a-and it reminds me s-so much o-of _that place_, p-people pushing me around and calling me names. I-I thought that I would be able to make friends for the first time, but even here I am a freak. I'll never fit in, never.' At this point she was crying. 'A-And I'm so m-mad at myself for thinking that if d-dad hadn't escaped everything would be different, t-that if he hadn't chosen revenge instead of his fiancé and god son, Harry and I would've had happy childhoods and not spend our time trying to forget the horrors of our past.' She sobbed and he rubbed her back, without interrupting her. 'I-I'm just so happy to have you here but I-I can't help feeling like I'm an inconvenience, that you'd be a lot h-happier without me to worry about. And everything those t-things come near me I hear their screams and I-I hear mine,-' her voice broke. '-I-I remember myself sitting locked in the basement for days without so much as water, f-food or even a bathroom, days without knowing if i-it was raining of not. I-I remember the day you came, I was so happy and I couldn't believe it. You showed me something I didn't know; you showed me love for the first time. For the first time I felt like I was normal, and that I was like any other kid, t-that was loved by their p-parents and that I was someone worth to be cared for. That I deserved it, and I-I believed it. But now everything is coming back and I can't help but feel like I'm being selfish and taking everything for granted.' She finished and he kept rubbing her back robotically, his mind was spinning. She thought she was being selfish for wishing to be loved? For needing him? That he would be happier without her?

'Mary, cub, there's no way I'd be happier without you here. After Lily and James died and your father went to prison I was miserable, but there was still you and your mum that needed me but when she died and they took you away I've never felt so hopeless. I spent almost ten miserable years, fighting against everything and everyone to find you and get you to come and live with me, I knew something was wrong. Then we found you on that small orphanage in London, I was so happy. When I saw you, you were so broken and I felt like it was my entire fault. I've failed you. You started to get better, I was so happy. I didn't want to hurt you; I didn't want you to know any more pain. I swore I would protect you, I still will. I love you more than anything, Mary Mae. I need you to know that is alright to want help and someone who cares, you have me and soon your dad will be here as well, you have Harry. We are family cub, all of us. That's what family do, they stick together until the very end through the good and bad moments, they help and take care of each other' He kissed the top of her head, not realizing that tears were streaming down his face.

'I-I'm scared.'

'Don't be cub, I'm here for you. If you need to talk or just need a hug you know you can come to me. And I want you to stand up for yourself, you know that truth. I know that's hard but know that Harry and I are here for you, and if any other student or teacher insult you or touch you in any way I want you to come to me, and I'll take care of it.' And just like her first night living with him, he scooped her up and went to the kitchen where she drank warm milk. He then stayed with her until she fell asleep and after a while, he fell asleep right there. A protective arm around her.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! I know I always say that, but I need more reviews to update. Believe it or not, they help to write! And about a muggle-born in Slytherin, I researched and they are really rare but it's possible for a muggle-born be sorted there. And what about the nicknames, did you like it? Any suggestion?**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING YOU MIGHT RECOGNISE.**

**Chapter 12- The Last Straw**

A week later Mary found herself waking up in her dorm room from a night full of a deep slumber thanks to a dreamless sleep provided by Remus. It was rare for her to sleep a little longer but somehow this saturday it was her who woke up to the sound of the Glittered Trio chit-chatting.

She sat up on her bed with a quick good morning to her dorm mates who would usually – and thankfully in Mary's mind - ignore her, not today though.

"Good morning? How can you say that? Look at you, the same freaky girl as always. It will be indeed a good morning when I don't have to see your nightmarish face." Romilda said smugly while she put her cherry lipgloss on.

"And look at those black circles under your eyes." Abigail the blond said with a mean smile.

"That along with your hair makes you look like a banshee. Are you sure you were not in Azkaban with your murderer daddy? Merlin knows you are dark enough to escape there." Miranda added her comment while pulling up her muggle skirt so it was almost showing her butt.

"Well maybe not anymore." Romilda said smirking and her cronies laughed maliciously.

Mary knew something was terribly wrong, her dorm-mates usually ignored her and now they were acting like they knew something she didn't. Like she said to her god father, the name calling wasn't new but somehow the little girl had to do her best to ignore the moisture on her eyes. She robotically got her muggle clothes and locked herself in the bathroom just as the door clicked shut she heard Romilda the vain shout: "make sure you take a good look in the mirror, murderer."

Automatically she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair as dark as her name was tied up in what was - until she fell asleep anyway - a pony tail. Now a few locks were tangled and seemed way shorter. When she felt the back of her head she noticed that what used to be a waist length hair was cut un-symmetrically below her ears.

Tears fell rhythmically as she took in her now changed reflection. She felt vulnerable and weak without her black locks to give her a more mature look. Mary's hair was the only thing she liked about herself. Being as short as a eight year old, with a gaunt face and haunted looks that a year of love couldn't take away there wasn't much to like in her opinion. Her big grey eyes were even more visible now that she couldn't hide behind her hair, her face was thinner and her late eating habits or lack of them reflected on her face.

From the eyes of another, some would say she looked beautiful, though younger. The now short hair made her beautiful eyes and the little freckles on her nose stand out and her full lips appear eternally pouty-like. But that didn't matter to Mair, the only thing she could see when she looked at herself was a broken girl.

She knelt down on the floor and cried. Not just because of the hair but because no one seemed to accept her wherever she went. At the orphanage where she grew up she was always a friendless freak. Then she discovered about magic and had high expectations for Hogwarts, since she would meet girls like her – or so she hoped. Why'd she had to be such a freak wherever she went? Why couldn't she have friends like everyone else? What had she done wrong? She backed away until her back was touching the wall and slid down, pulling her knees to her chest as the tears. She sobbed quietly as she heard the trio laughing outside calling her names and laughing at her expense.

She thought of her past, her nightmares and of her dream of having friends disappearing right in front of her. Just like in the orphanage, the other girls made sure she was felt different, unwanted, abnormal. Crushing her already low self-esteem.

Little Mae crawled her way towards the tub and in her pajamas still she turned on the boiling water. Would she be able to drown herself? She didn't think she could stand anymore of this. Of people calling her dad murderer and of seeing the results of a self-destructive full moon on her godfather; of being the reason Harry and his first friend fell apart. Of being hated, criticized, ridiculed. This was the last straw for a girl who'd to bear too much in her short 11 years of age.

After what seemed like hours but somehow was only 10 minutes she got up and took off her now soaked clothes. Running her finger through the innumerous scars that covered her body. She washed the remains of her hair and body and let the now warm water relax her muscles as tears still fell from her now closed eyes.

She tried to imagine she was elsewhere, with her mum, dad, godfather and Harry, Her long black hair moving in the wind stream.

She got out of the bath and dried her scarred and underweight frame and without looking herself in the mirror she put on a cute jumper with a hood and her favourite trainers and ran. Not bothered that Romilda and her group already told everyone in the common room about her new look and everyone was laughing at her spence. She just ran until her weakened body couldn't carry her any longer and realized she was standing next to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw in front of the library. She just sat down and wept.

"Are you alright? Mary, isn't it?" She heard a foreign voice and shook with sobs.

"Go away! Go back and tell them you found me weeping, I don't care! Just leave me alone!" Mary said with strength she didn't know she possessed.

"I'm not leaving you alone like this. Family is family after all." The voice replied and she heard the sound of books being dropped to the floor as someone sat down in front of her. Mary then removed her head from her hands and found herself staring into the blue eyes of none other than Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince. "Look, I don't care your dad is a murderer – Merlin knows the mudbloods deserve it. You are a Black, my mother is a Black. We are family and we purebloods stick together. Now what happened? Who hurt you?" He said with little patience.

"Why do you care? Just leave me alone!" She shouted and put her head in her hands. In the agitation her hood fell back and she heard him take a sharp breath.

"The girls in your dorm did this right?" He said in a much softer voice. He reached out to touch her face and she drew back nodding. "No one messes with a Black, I'll see they regret it. Trust me on this."

"T-Thank you, M-Malfoy." She said quietly and he nodded.

"Draco." He corrected automatically. "Do you want me to er- get you anything?" She shook her head, hiccupping. "Let me at least take you to your godfather, I won't leave you here alone, come." He got up and held his hand for her to take and she did it awkwardly. "Don't be sad okay, it's not that bad."

If someone told her that one day Draco Malfoy would be comforting her she would laugh at their faces but now she could see the protectiveness he showed. She knew he didn't care about_ her_, he cared about Mary _Black _and the one thing she knew about her father's family was that blood matters.

They walked quietly as Draco led her to the DADA office.

"I better go before you knock, otherwise he may think I did something." And he turned to walk away.

"Draco?" Mary said her voice quiet.

"Yeah?" He turned around.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I mean, literally." And with that he walked away.

Mary entered to find the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom empty and walked up the stairs to her godfather's rooms with hands shaking. She said the password and invited herself in.

"Uncle Remus?" She said, her voice stronger than she actually was.

"I'm in the study, sweetheart." She heard his voice coming from the left and followed it. All the composure she gained on her way there disappeared as she looked into those amber eyes.

She ran into his arms and automatically he held her, rocking her back and forth as he did many times before. She blabbered what happened between snot and sobs and he murmured reassuring words now and then, the wolf inside him growling.

"You realize that this went on for far too long right Mary?" He said when she seemed calmer enough to listen.

"Promise me that you wont do anything." She was going to say but he interrupted her in the middle of her sentence.

"Right Mary?" He gave her a stern look.

"Right Uncle Rem." She said quietly, moving to stand from his lap.

"We don't have to talk about it now, but your head of house will be notified and they will be punished. Bullying isn't tolerated inside the walls of Hogwarts and I turned a blind eye towards it because you asked me to for far too long. Look at where we are now." She started crying again, this time quietly.

"It's not bullying when one deserves it Uncle Remus. I'm a freak, they hate me because I'm a freak. They hate me, they hate my daddy, they hate that I'm close to Harry, they hate that I breathe. Why did I do wrong? I Just wanted to be normal for once!" She said as she cried harder and harder, Remus rubbing her back.

" You know it's not true, darling. You are beautiful, you are loved, you are not a freak. You are a witch and has as much right to everything here as the girls who did this. You are _loved _Mary. So So much. You shouldn't have to suffer because of other people's opinions." Mary nodded not believing him a bit.

They stood there, hugging for a while and Remus pulled away with a smile on his face.

"Now what about we go to Hogsmeade to fix this hair of yours and grab some hot chocolate from Honeydukes huh?" Remus' smile seemed a little forced as well as Mary's.

"Can Harry come?" She asked shyly.

"Of course he can. Go wash your face and grab a coat while I send him a message to meet us in the entrance hall."

That's what she did and soon Mary was walking through Hogwarts grounds leading the way whilst Remus filled Harry in what happened behind her.

"Those bi-" Remus gave him a look. "Er- hags!" Harry said and took two long strides and hugged Mary from behind ignoring her flinch and kissing the top of her head. "They will pay, little Mair. I'll make sure of it."

Their trip to Hogsmeade was uneventful. They stopped at a little barber shop to fix Mary's hair – she now sported a channel haircut that made her look even younger and made her eyes stand out but she was feeling happier than she felt before. The lady who fixed it [her hair] was nice and gave her chocolates after she was ready.

Harry, Remus and Mary were walking back to Hogwarts when they saw a commotion near the Hagrid's hut.

A huge black Grim-like dog was barking and chasing a small gray creature – a rat.

Mary didn't even think, she just removed her wand from its holster and followed them and when she was close enough she shouted "IMPEDIMENTA" channeling all her magic and will through her wand and aiming at the pudgy rat. It fell still.

**A/N: So what do you think? I'm a bit surprised on how this chapter turned out and even a bit satisfied. After all this time without writing, it was not that hard to get back to it. The Draco part surprised me the most, if you want to see more of him in this story just review saying so that I'll be happy to put him in. Also, I know he's not acting like in the books but I think of the Blacks as a very strong family who protects their owns. Anyway, I really enjoyed writing Mary's feelings and hope you enjoyed them as well.**

**Lots of love, **

**The Girl Who Dreamed**

**REVIEWS = UPDATES**


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